Almost a year ago, in a November 25, 2018 Salon article, Henry Giroux, a professor at McMaster University (Ontario) and leading authority on fascism, warned that Donald Trump's attacks on nonwhite immigrants were part of a series of actions that were leading to dictatorship in America. See:

Trump's fascist efforts to demolish democracy

https://theconversation.com/trumps-fascist-efforts-to-demolish-democracy-106247

Giroux wrote:

"Driven by a hatred of 'the other' and infused with narratives of decline and victimization, fascist politics trade in an incendiary rhetoric of fear, demonization and violence."

Giroux gave the following example from Trump's agenda of hatred against brown immigrants:

"One recent example can be found in U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing escalation o attacks on migrants. He has referred to the caravan of refugees from Central America as an invading criminal force against whom he is mobilizing as many as 15,000 troops...

According to Trump, the caravan of migrants had 'violently overrun' Mexico and were on the verge of invading the United States.

Prior to the midterm elections, he called immigrants 'predatory' and 'the worst scum in the world.' After the midterms, he ramped up the violence by authorizing 'U.S. troops guarding the border against migrant caravans to use deadly force if necessary.'"

Giroux continued:

"Trump's language does more than promote a decline in civility, it also promotes state terrorism while functioning as a savage nod to the most extreme elements of his base of support."

Giroux further warned:

For instance, he has threatened to order U.S. soldiers to shoot migrants and refugees from Central America if they throw racks at them. In addition, he has pledged to use an executive order to rewrite the U.S. constitution and annul birthright citizenship.

Trump'd rhetoric and policies point to a terrifying new horizon and its modes of governance. It shows that domestic terrorism is alive and well."

In the last sentence above, Giroux quite clearly means "state terrorism" when he talks about "domestic terrorism." And state terrorism by the Trump administration against non-European immigrants has continued and increased without question over the past year

This is shown not only by Trump's continuing rhetoric of hate against both legal and unauthorized immigrants, as shown by his recent vile attack on Somani refugees in Minneapolis, but by his many cruel and inhuman actions against asylum seekers and other immigrants, as witnessed by his "Remain in (dangerous and often deadly) Mexico" and other actions preventing them from asserting their legal rights to apply in the United States, as well as his sadistic detention policies, including trying detain children indefinitely and deny them basic human necessities.

Trump has also systematically tried to rewrite the immigration laws without Congressional approval in order to bar many different classes of mainly non-European legal immigrants from entering the US or remaining in this country permanently purely by decree, without going through Congress as required by our constitution.

All this is dictatorship, not democracy..

But, while this comment is limited to immigration issues, it is no longer possible to ignore the fact that Trump's fascist agenda against nonwhite immigrants is also a rehearsal or prelude to a fascist attack on the foundations of America's democracy in general, just as Giroux predicted.

The fact that Trump's fascist assaults on the basic human rights of immigrants are reflected in is fascist contempt for democracy and the rule of law in general are illustrated by two recent incidents in response to the impeachment investigation against him led by House Democrats - an investigation which should but unfortunately does not (yet) include his immigration agenda (as I have discussed previously).

In on illustrative incident, Trump. who has previous referred to immigrants as "scum" (see above) has now expanded this term to include all "Never Trump" Republicans and, by extension all his political opponents. See, October 23:

Trump blasts 'Never Trump' Republicans as 'human scum'

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/467131-trump-blasts-never-trump-republicans-as-human-scum

And on the same day, a mob of Republican House members violently broke up a scheduled House Committee impeachment hearing and delayed the testimony of a witness perceived as damaging to Trump for five hours - reportedly at Trump's instigation. See: Washington Post:

Trump told Republicans to fight. They took the brawl underground.

Thisis notthe place to discuss the merits or details of thef the impeachment investigations, which are (lamentably) not related to immigration. But these investigations are part of a democratic procedure which Trump's supporters, one can quite reasonably assume with his assent, if not active instigation, tried to break up ad actually halted for an extended period of time.

History shows that this use of violence against democratic procedures is fascism, not democracy, Professor Giroux's warning must be taken very seriously.

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Roger Algase
Attorney at Law