Deportation Raids Reportedly Ongoing Across U.S.

The better.

They are going after immigrants first.

Next it will be our turn.

I believe that to be their plan.

Not that the media paid much attention to that.

This sounds like any immigration officer can independently make that determination.

There are some bad hombres in Texas. I stood in line at the bank once behind a guy with a satchel and wearing a black Santa Muerte tee shirt. I'm like just let me get out of here.

He may or may not have been here legally, but he dealt with people on the other side of the river.

Just substitute any non-Abrahamic deity for Santa Muerte in that sentence. Thanatos, or Hades, or Hel, or Yama, or Anubis. Or for that matter certain depictions of angels and saints -- Michael, Azriel and Gabriel all serve similar traditional roles, depending on culture and time. You're talking about a living religious tradition, whose adherents have a complex and rich theology, that you clearly don't understand. And there are a lot of us -- white and brown and black -- who aren't specifically or exclusively Christian. Did you convene a seminar on his religious tradition right there? Or just make assumptions?

You actually cannot make an assumption that one's religious or fashion preferences correlate to criminality. That is exactly out of the Nazi playbook -- they claimed that Jews were drug dealers and criminals and people who failed to think believed it.

Also... seriously? You were in a *bank*. Just because the guy is making a deposit or withdrawal doesn't mean criminality -- there are still a lot of completely legitimate businesses that run on a cash basis, and criminals tend to be wise enough to not Al Capone themselves by getting noticed making excessive withdrawals or deposits.

If I am stopped, can they detain me for that?

If you're brown, driving a beater and in certain counties, yes, that could bring at least get a probable cause stop. Or if they see a misbaha (Islamic prayer beads) or japa mala (Hindu version).

When it's a marker of being outside the dominant culture (be it white evangelical, or Mormon) then yes, there are cops and ICE who are more than content to "papers, please" if they think they can get away with it.

I don't think Catholics are immune at all. I do hope you are safe and that you are part of the USA forever. God bless!!!!

We are in this together!!!!!

Or you are extremely naive. ICYMI,

Santa Muerte is not a real recognized saint. BTW, muerte in Spanish means death. This guy wore a teeshirt. The only people that "revere" Santa Murtte are drug cartel members and associates and these are some very bad people. This guy wore the teeshirt for protection which is what cartel member and associates pray to Santa Muerte for. Protection from what? Other rival cartel members, the law. I don't know what was in the satchel. I assume a boatload of money. But he was visibly nervous with his eyes darting and foot tapping while waiting in line. But this was a major bank, which was so odd.

Yes, there are some very bad people out there. And they don't have to be in the US illegally as there are cartel members in both sides of the river.

You make it about freedom of religion. All I can say is if you're ever in South Texas and you see somebody with a Santa Muerte teeshirt, you'd best walk the other way. He wore it for a reason. He needs protection and you don't want to be in the middle of it.

The cult of Santa Muerte is present throughout the strata of Mexican society, although the majority of devotees are from the urban working class.[32] Most are young people, aged in their teens, twenties, or thirties, and are also mostly female.[33] A large following developed among Mexicans who are disillusioned with the dominant, institutional Catholic Church and, in particular, with the inability of established Catholic saints to deliver them from poverty.[7]

The phenomenon is based among people with scarce resources, excluded from the formal market economy, as well as the judicial and educational systems, primarily in the inner cities and the very rural areas.[4] Devotion to Santa Muerte is what anthropologists call a "cult of crisis". Devotion to the image peaks during economic and social hardships, which tend to affect the working classes more. Santa Muerte tends to attract those in extremely difficult or hopeless situations but also appeals to smaller sectors of middle class professionals and even the affluent.[6][29] Some of her most devoted followers are those individuals associated with petty economic crimes, committed often out of desperation; such as prostitutes, pickpockets and thieves.[4]

The worship of Santa Muerte also attracts those who are not inclined to seek the traditional Catholic Church for spiritual solace, as it is part of the "legitimate" sector of society. Many followers of Santa Muerte live on the margins of the law or outside it entirely. Many street vendors, taxi drivers, vendors of counterfeit merchandise, street people, prostitutes, pickpockets, petty drug traffickers and gang members are not practicing Catholics or Protestants, but neither are they atheists.[4]

In essence they have created their own new religion that reflects their realities, identity, and practices, especially since it speaks to the violence and struggles for life that many of these people face.[4] Conversely both police and military in Mexico can be counted among the faithful who ask for blessings on their weapons and ammunition.[4]

While worship is largely based in poor neighborhoods, Santa Muerte is also venerated in affluent areas such as Mexico City's Condesa and Coyoacán districts.[18] However, negative media coverage of the worship and condemnation by the Catholic Church in Mexico and certain Protestant denominations have influenced public perception of the cult of Santa Muerte. With the exception of some artists and politicians, some of whom perform rituals secretly, those in higher socioeconomic strata look upon the veneration with distaste as a form of superstition.[6]
Association with the LGBT communityEdit

Santa Muerte is also seen as a protector of homosexual, bisexual, and transgender communities in Mexico,[34] since many are considered to be outcast from society.[35] Many LGBT people ask her for protection from violence, hatred, disease, and to help them in search of love.[36][37]

Her intercession is commonly invoked in same-sex marriage ceremonies performed in Mexico.[38][39] The Iglesia Católica Tradicional México-Estados Unidos, also known as the Church of Santa Muerte, recognizes gay marriage and performs religious wedding ceremonies for homosexual couples.[40][41][42][43]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Muerte

I'd avoid making assumptions.

That was quite interesting to read.

Only immigrants there are farmworkers.

There goes the strawberry harvest this year.

And you're right - right now is the Florida strawberry season. Deporting the workers who harvest them in the peak period will piss off a lot of the farmers in Polk County where Plant City is and that is a very Republican area.

If those farmers see their strawberries rotting in the fields they WILL complain to their representatives I hope they get really pissed at every single on all the way to Rick Scott and Trump! BTW Adam Putnam, the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, lives in Bartow just a few miles from Plant City (and a few blocks from my Mom). I bet he gets some calls, too.

"ICE checkpoints targeting immigrants for random ID checks"

How do they tell "immigrants" from native born Americans?

Answer: They can't, they use "profiling".

They are not all brown either:

http://www.latintimes.com/canadian-immigrants-lead-world-illegal-us-visa-overstays-according-first-ever-dhs-367906

To Kristallnacht

Is the ACLU or SPL working on this?

If being brought here as a child and having American children doesn't allow people to stay, then why should Melania, who acted criminally when she came here, be allowed to stay?

I seriously want to start a "Deport Melania" campaign.

enemies of the people.

Duplicate of http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141697679