Trump’s “Victims of Immigration Crime” Hotline Is as American as It Gets
NOVANEWS
By Natascha Uhlmann
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Calexico, California, March 21, 2005. From "Neighborhood Watch" programs to crime hotlines, the US justifies profiling by creating an army of snitches. (Photo: Ann Johansson / The New York Times)
This April, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the launch of the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE). The central feature is a hotline built to "assist victims of crimes committed by criminal aliens" by providing updates on immigrants' removal from the US. The office is transparent in its intent to bolster an atmosphere of anti-immigrant paranoia, and the community response has been laudable -- within hours, the line was rendered unusable as prank callers flooded it with fals...