Franklin Foer, “How Trump Radicalized ICE,” The Atlantic

ARTICLE: Franklin Foer, “How Trump Radicalized ICE,” The Atlantic, September 2018

Remember, these are reading/discussion questions. I am not asking you to answer each question as though it is a quiz. Rather, I want to see evidence that you have not only READ this article before class, but thought about the article and its implications.

This article is about ICE during the Trump administration. Recall the New Yorker Radio Hour podcast that we listened to several weeks ago. The reporter said that dismantling Trump’s immigration policies at the border will not be easy. What did the judge say to the mother who fled Honduras with her daughters (after her husband had been murdered and her eldest daughter had been raped by local authorities in Honduras). We know from reading Rosas (Monday) that the CPB is responsible for enforcing immigration laws at the border; while ICE is responsible for enforcing laws in the interior of the country. Even though some cities are Sanctuary Cities, ICE operatives are still roaming the streets spreading fear among the immigrant residents.

Foer writes about a Mauritanian refugee community in Ohio. How did the people who created this community end up in Ohio? How does Foer describe them and their community? Why didn’t they become citizens? What changed for them after 2016?

In 2016 Trump railed against the “deep state” when he was campaigning for president. What is the deep state and how was it relevant to his deportation policies?

Why did ICE, a segment of the deep state, support Trump in 2016?

ICE relies heavily on private contractors. What, according to Foer, is the problem with this?

Foer describes ICE as a “shot-gun marriage” between two branches of immigration services that don’t get along with each other. What are those two branches and why don’t they get along?

Foer follows an undocumented immigrant named Ismael into his regularly scheduled appointment with ICE. What does he discover? What does Ismael’s experience tell us about the culture of ICE?

Remember, these are reading/discussion questions. I am not asking you to answer each question as though it is a quiz. Rather, I want to see evidence that you have not only READ this article before class, but thought about the article and its implications.