What's at stake
ICE:
They are disappearing immigrants, hardworking community members, to El Salvador’s notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison without due process, legal justification, or public accountability.
https://www.nilc.org/resources/tracking-the-cecot-disappearances/
This is why we must do everything to physically resist ICE. This is a glimpse of what happens at CECOT:
"For six consecutive days, the inmates were subjected to lengthy beatings, three inmates told me. On the last day, male guards brought in their female colleagues, who struck the naked prisoners as the male guards recorded videos on their phones and laughed. The female guards would count to 20 as they administered the beatings, and if the prisoners complained or cried out, they would start again."
The government has been bending reality, demonizing and gaslighting on the facts about immigration. Read here to learn what's really going on:
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/mass-deportation-trump-democracy/#immigrants-here
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To date, the U.S. government has not given any of the 280+ men an opportunity to defend themselves against any alleged basis for this exile–nor have we seen a full list of the men originally sent to CECOT. Disappearances are the tools of authoritarian regimes. They have no place in a democracy with a Constitution that values justice and due process. We must collectively demand justice for those who survived CECOT and the return of the men who remain and languish there.
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Has the US turned into a kleptocracy? Here are some things to consider:
1. Peter Thiel’s Role in Palantir and Politics
Palantir is a government contractor deeply tied to surveillance and defense, earning billions through federal contracts (especially with agencies like the CIA, ICE, and DoD).
Peter Thiel, a billionaire co-founder of Palantir, is both a private profiteer from government contracts and a political power player, backing candidates like J.D. Vance and supporting Trump.
He’s known for wanting to reshape U.S. politics in a more authoritarian-libertarian mold — supporting candidates aligned with his vision while also benefiting from policies that support tech oligarchy and deregulation.
➡️ Kleptocratic concern: When billionaires profit from government contracts and fund candidates to sustain or expand those profits, it raises questions about democratic integrity and self-dealing — classic features of soft kleptocracy.
2. Thiel’s Support of J.D. Vance
Thiel poured millions into Vance’s Senate campaign and has reportedly been part of conversations about him as a future presidential candidate.
Vance, in turn, supports policies favorable to billionaire interests, despite his populist rhetoric.
➡️ Kleptocratic dynamic: This suggests a closed feedback loop: wealth buys political power, and political power protects and expands wealth. While legal, it mimics kleptocracy through elite patronage.
3. The Trump Tax Cuts ("Big Beautiful Bill")
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017) significantly reduced corporate tax rates (from 35% to 21%) and gave major breaks to the wealthy.
Middle-class gains were smaller, temporary, and often offset by cuts to public services.
Trump publicly described it as a "big, beautiful Christmas present for the American people," but the benefits disproportionately went to the rich and corporations — many of whom are Trump donors.
➡️ Kleptocratic element: When economic policy is explicitly designed to shift wealth upward under the guise of populism, critics argue this resembles “legalized theft” — kleptocracy not through embezzlement, but systemic upward redistribution.
4. Is This a Kleptocracy?
Yes, in spirit (according to critics):
The fusion of wealth and power, policy capture by elites, and erosion of democratic representation can be seen as a form of “soft kleptocracy” or "elite capture capitalism."
Final Thought
This is part of a growing critique of modern American oligarchy — where a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals like Thiel can shape government policy, public contracts, and even presidential candidates to align with their interests. It doesn’t have to be illegal to function like kleptocracy — that’s the disturbing part.
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