DHS was Built to Come After People Like Me. Now, They Are After All of Us.
In this opinion piece, Faisal Al-Juburi, Co-CEO of the RAICES, argues that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a "lawless entity" born from post-9/11 fear that now threatens the constitutional rights of all Americans. Drawing on his personal experience as a first-generation Iraqi American, Al-Juburi contends that the agency has evolved from a supposed protector into a perpetrator of state-sanctioned violence, utilizing a ballooning federal budget to enrich private prison contractors like CoreCivic and GEO Group. RAICES’ involvement is highlighted through Al-Juburi’s leadership and the organization's long-standing role in sounding the alarm on human rights abuses, such as racial profiling and mass deportation tactics. Ultimately, the op-ed calls for the public to move beyond the "Abolish ICE" movement and demand that Congress completely dismantle DHS to protect the American republic from systemic corruption and the erosion of civil liberties.
