US Immigration Policy: Provocative Nazi Comparison Drawn

• A commentary draws a direct comparison between current US immigration policy and the early stages of Nazi persecution, referencing W.G. Sebald's novel "Austerlitz."
• The author contends that the United States is experiencing a process of "Nazification," marked by violence and the use of "concentration camps."
• Historical Nazi practices like "deportation" and meticulous record-keeping are contrasted with modern policies of "erasing numbers" and sending refugees to 36 nations for cash.
• The piece highlights the proliferation of over 220 private, for-profit immigration prisons in the U.S., including the first one built for mothers and babies in Laredo, from which the author personally rescued infants.
• The commentary warns that current events represent a "prelude" of "slowly unfolding horrors," echoing the incremental steps that led to historical atrocities.

The author asserts that the United States is currently undergoing a process of 'Nazification,' characterized by escalating violence and the confinement of individuals in what are termed 'concentration camps.'

A recent commentary draws a direct and provocative comparison between contemporary US immigration policy and the initial stages of Nazi Germany's persecution of its Jewish population. The author references W.G. Sebald's novel "Austerlitz," which details the restrictive decrees imposed on Jews, such as limited shopping hours, prohibitions on taxi use, segregated tram seating, and bans from public venues like coffeehouses, cinemas, and concerts. This literary depiction serves as a reverse prelude, illustrating how seemingly minor restrictions can foreshadow profound atrocities.

Sebald's narrative follows Jacques Austerlitz's three-decade quest to uncover his identity and the fate of his parents, who placed him on a kindertransport at age four, just before the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Growing up in Wales as Daffyd Elias, Austerlitz remained unaware of his true parentage or their destiny. His eventual understanding of the era's "horrible deformations" emerged through fragmented memories and unsettling premonitions, shaping his life despite his lack of direct responsibility for the horrors. Sebald's final work, which posthumously received the National Book Award in 2001, is invoked to suggest that today's unfolding events mirror such historical preludes, often recognized only in retrospect.

The author contends that the United States is currently undergoing a process akin to "Nazification," citing instances of violence and the confinement of individuals in what are termed "concentration camps." Acknowledging that the full scope of future atrocities was unknown in 1933, the commentary highlights how the language of everyday life can mask escalating horrors. Historically, European Jews in the 1930s were not immediately sent to extermination camps but were instead "deported," sometimes offered the option to "self-deport" by signing documents known as Heimeinkaufsverträge, which mandated the compulsory first name "Israel" and promised "residence in what was described to them as a most salubrious place."

This historical context is juxtaposed with current practices, where a figure referred to as "Herr Trűmpf" is described as deporting refugees to 36 different nations, reportedly for financial considerations. Under Hitler and his Reichsfűhrer Heinrich Himmler, Jews marked for execution had their files stamped "R.n.e." (Rűckkehr nicht erwűnscht, meaning "Return not Desired"). The SS officers responsible for these actions were noted for their meticulous adherence to numerical accuracy, conducting multiple censuses for this purpose. In contrast, the author suggests that "Herr Trűmpf and his Reichsfűhrer Stephen Miller" have adopted a "better final solution" by simply "erasing the numbers," implying a deliberate obfuscation of data related to those being processed.

The grim reality of historical atrocities is underscored by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, which houses a room displaying over 100,000 shoes from gas chamber victims, including more than 8,000 belonging to babies and children murdered upon arrival. This stark image resonates with the author's personal experience, having rescued infants from a U.S. "concentration camp." The author recounts meeting the mother of these children four decades prior in an immigration prison in Laredo.

This Laredo facility is identified as the first U.S. immigration prison specifically constructed to detain mothers and babies, and notably, it was operated by a private, for-profit company. The commentary points out that the landscape has since expanded dramatically, with over 220 private prisons now operating for profit across the United States, incarcerating mothers, babies, and various refugees. The historical parallel extends to the confiscation of Jewish property—apartments, money, jewels, books, furniture, clothing, and other possessions—which were systematically collected and stored in warehouses after their "deportation" by the Nazis.

The author asserts that the United States is currently undergoing a process of 'Nazification,' characterized by escalating violence and the confinement of individuals in what are termed 'concentration camps.' This dire assessment is framed as a warning that the present serves as a prelude, with "slowly unfolding horrors" often being recognized too late. The commentary suggests that the current trajectory of US immigration policy and enforcement bears an unsettling resemblance to the incremental steps that preceded the Holocaust, urging a recognition of these parallels before they escalate further.

Source: Original commentary via Courthouse News