Robert Reich: The Rise of Trump’s Extrajudicial Police State

Immigration Arrests and Temporary Protected Status Revocations

An analysis by The New York Times cited in the commentary indicates that a surge in immigration arrests swept up thousands of individuals over the summer. The report states that less than four percent of those arrested had a past violent criminal conviction. Those targeted include individuals married to U.S. citizens, people pursuing asylum claims after entering legally, and those whose temporary legal status was unilaterally revoked by the administration. According to the published text, ICE has summoned individuals with Temporary Protected Status to immigration offices to fit them with ankle monitors, even when those individuals have no criminal history and remain in full compliance with their status. The administration maintains that these monitors are necessary to track persons slated for future deportation.

Wrongful Detentions of U.S. Citizens and Fatal Enforcement Incidents

The enforcement system has also affected native-born Americans. ProPublica documented more than 170 U.S. citizens wrongfully detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during raids and protests over a nine-month span. These cases allegedly involved the use of force and multi-day detentions without access to counsel or communication. The commentary also highlights fatal incidents involving ICE agents. On July 7, 2026, in Houston, ICE agents pursued and shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who had lived in the United States for decades, while he was driving a work crew to a job site. While the Department of Homeland Security claimed Salgado Araujo attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon, witnesses disputed the account. A separate incident occurred on July 13, 2026, in Biddeford, Maine, where ICE agents pursued Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old immigrant from Colombia, as he drove to work. The Department of Homeland Security stated an agent feared for public safety as Durán Guerrero attempted to drive away, but elected officials and family members disputed that account, noting he was not the intended target of the operation.

Military Operations and Domestic Protest Sentences

Beyond domestic immigration operations, the commentary points to U.S. military strikes against vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. According to military announcements cited in the text, a strike in the eastern Pacific brought the overall death toll to 223 people killed across 67 strikes during a nearly yearlong campaign targeting boats accused of drug trafficking. The commentary notes these actions occur without trials or the presentation of evidence before a court of law. Domestically, the federal judiciary sentenced nine individuals in June to prison terms ranging from 30 to 100 years for protesting outside an immigrant detention facility in Texas. The prosecutions utilized new administrative guidance classifying the decentralized Antifa movement as a domestic terrorist organization, despite the absence of a federal domestic terrorism charge under existing U.S. law. The commentary notes these sentences exceed those handed down to any of the convicted rioters in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, all of whom have since received pardons or commutations.