Authoritarian Tactics at America’s Doorstep
Threats from the border czar
I will not stay silent in the face of dangerous, undemocratic threats and actions from Trump and his regime. Their alarming parallels to authoritarian tactics used in Russia and other dictatorships must be exposed, and here is the latest threat that demands attention.
Donald Trump’s hardline incoming border czar, Tom Homan—a former acting ICE director known for his role in family separation policies—recently threatened to jail Denver Mayor Mike Johnston over his resistance to Trump’s mass deportation plans. Speaking to Fox News, Homan bluntly stated, “Me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing; he’s willing to go to jail. I’m willing to put him in jail.” Such threats are strikingly reminiscent of public intimidation tactics in authoritarian regimes like Russia, where dissent is publicly crushed to send a chilling message to others.
Homan, who was instrumental in implementing Trump’s infamous, cruel family separation policy, has returned to the forefront of Trump’s immigration agenda. A contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025—a detailed undemocratic blueprint for restructuring federal agencies to consolidate executive power—Homan is now doubling down on his hardline enforcement strategies. During a recent appearance on Donald Trump Jr.'s podcast, when asked what the public can expect on Day 1 of the new regime, Homan replied with a smirk, “Shock and awe. Shock and awe.”
Homan also emphasized his commitment to jailing leaders of sanctuary cities: “It’s a felony if you knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien from immigration authorities. It’s also a felony to impede a federal law enforcement officer. If he don’t help, that’s fine. He can get the hell out of the way, but we’re going to go do the job,” Homan said, justifying his threats against Johnston.
In Russia, similar tactics are used to crush dissent, with public arrests often staged as a spectacle to intimidate others into compliance. Whether Homan follows through on his threats or not, the danger lies in normalizing such authoritarian rhetoric and actions in the U.S.
The media must remain vigilant and avoid normalizing these behaviors. In authoritarian regimes, small breaches of democratic norms often snowball into systemic oppression, eroding freedoms incrementally. With Homan threatening arrests of political opponents, the Trump regime is once again displaying its authoritarian tendencies.
America is already over a decade past the democratic norms many once took for granted. To protect our democracy, we must call out and resist every breach—whether small or large. In a dictatorship, unchecked actions quickly escalate. Every step matters, and vigilance is our strongest safeguard.
Thank you for your post and continued vigilance. I don't know what has happened to my country. This is not the Republican party of my father, a man I disagreed with on policy but a man who was a decent human being who came to his own conclusions. He would never have joined the cult that is the GOP today. The shameless, spineless, and truly, unChristian values demonstrated by Trump enablers is just chilling.