Paperwork.

The military has been called out, families’ lives have been ruined, and people are living in fear, all because immigrants who want to live and work in this country in peace don’t have the proper paperwork.

Are there violent gang members and drug dealers in the country illegally? Yes, most certainly. Should those people be deported or locked up for a long time? No doubt.

But do you really think violent drug dealers are moonlighting as dishwashers, roofers, maids, gardeners, and other hard menial jobs?

Are violent criminals also responsible parents who send their kids to school and scout meetings?

I seriously doubt it.

So what is really going on here? Are President Trump and many of his followers really all that upset about a lack of paperwork? Or is there more to the story?

One easy answer would be to say that this administration’s obsession with immigrants and refugees is based on racism. Calling someone a racist is often used as a cheap and easy way to shut them down and stop any meaningful dialogue. I hesitate to use it here. But if you take a look, it’s hard to say that racism isn’t at least part of the reason.

Trump’s former attorney and close advisor, Michael Cohen, testified in 2019 before the House Oversight Committee that “He (Trump) is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.”

Cohen went on to testify, “While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.”

Tie those comments in with Trump’s actions by only allowing white refugees from South Africa into America and calling Haiti and El Salvador “shit hole countries.” I find it hard to deny that racism isn’t the foundation of his actions.

But what if there’s more? What if he’s trying to manufacture a crisis so he can declare Martial Law and stop future elections? He has made it clear he wants to serve more than two terms.

They say those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I hesitate to use a Hitler analogy because, like calling someone a racist, comparing Trump to Hitler shuts down meaningful dialogue, and I don’t want to do that.

But do some research on your own about the Reichstag fire. In 1933, an alleged Communist burned down a government building. Hitler used that as a catalyst to increase support for his Nazi party. Is it possible that Trump is trying to manufacture a crisis for a Reichstag moment? Read about it and see if you find any similarities.

The President’s immigration czar said that Governor Gavin Newsom should be arrested. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Newsome should be tarred and feathered. Is this what America has become? Have we become a nation where the President arrests political opponents rather than working with them to find common ground to solve problems?

Don’t get me started on the military parade. The parade cost the taxpayers multi-millions of dollars. If President Trump truly wanted to honor the Army, wouldn’t he have stayed to shake the hands of the West Point graduates? Would he be cutting veterans’ benefits?

I don’t recall seeing a military parade of this magnitude in a democratic country. I do recall seeing them in places like Russia and North Korea.

Every President in my lifetime has deported millions of people who were in the country illegally. It was done through the courts and due process.

The warrants that were used to arrest the workers at Glen Valley Foods were not criminal warrants but civil ones. There’s a big difference. They weren’t looking to arrest violent gang members and drug dealers. They were looking to arrest people without the proper paperwork. Hard-working men and women who came to America looking for a better life. Much like my great-grandparents did in 1888.

Our immigration laws have been broken for decades. Even when bipartisan Senators tried to fix them, Republicans in the House prevented the fixes from even coming to a vote.

This country was founded by immigrants. That attitude is changing due to unfounded fear stoked by power-hungry politicians who want to use the broken system to garner votes and control people.

Think about it. Is it possible that all this is a prelude to an authoritarian form of government? If it is, historians will trace the start of American democracy’s demise to one thing.

Paperwork.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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