Also, this is not the bottom; the bottom is worse and further away. Concerned US citizens, whether by birth or by legal immigration, should at this time probably start working on an exit strategy just as a backup.
I am not saying this because it's ideal; it's far from ideal, but because one has to be realistic and pragmatic.
The 2A helps only when a whole community were to get picked up all at once, which basically never happens. When individuals get picked up one at a time, it is in effect useless. Also, the state-specific interpretation of the 2A doesn't allow concealed carry of compact automatic weapons, and even if it did, it is basically a recipe for self annihilation because there are a lot more of them.
Also, there is no way that the people will mass organize to fight ICE violently. This again is because ICE targets individuals, not entire communities.
Unfortunately they will instead continue writing fan fiction about protecting their rights while they vote for team "take the guns first" yet again.
I'm going to assume that second amendment is going to continue to be upheld by Republican supporters. And you'll have an NRA who look at people getting executed for possessing a weapon without drawing, and keep saying "this is fine".
The hypocrisy with 2A supporters is palpable. They never supported 2A rights.
The law was often not enforced by prior administrations, just as they didn’t enforce many of the immigration laws. And that became kind of a problem, especially in the 2024 election where both parties promised to enforce the laws more strictly.
People should actually read the immigration laws, including the IIRIRA, which was passed during the Clinton administration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_Immigration_Reform_and.... We have a quite strict immigration system on paper that simply hasn’t been enforced. And the Trump administration is systematically going through the laws already on the books to figure out which ones can be enforced more aggressively to reduce immigration.
Another serious problem is that the context of fraud is not well defined. Does it pertain to immigration or naturalization fraud, or to a general criminal history, or even to traffic violations? It is intentionally under-specified, open to exploitation, to selective enforcement. As noted in the Smithsonian article you linked, Supreme Court cases in the 1950s and ’60s that declared unconstitutional several statutes pertaining to denationalization.
The law specifically permits detention pending a determination of immigration status, and in some cases requires such detention: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1226
> Another serious problem is that the context of fraud is not well defined. Does it pertain to immigration or naturalization fraud, or to a general criminal history, or even to traffic violations? It is open to exploitation.
The statute says: "It shall be the duty of the United States attorneys for the respective districts, upon affidavit showing good cause therefor, to institute proceedings in any district court of the United States in the judicial district in which the naturalized citizen may reside at the time of bringing suit, for the purpose of revoking and setting aside the order admitting such person to citizenship and canceling the certificate of naturalization on the ground that such order and certificate of naturalization were illegally procured or were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation, and such revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such person to citizenship and such canceling of certificate of naturalization shall be effective as of the original date of the order and certificate..." 8 USC 1451(a).
So it is strictly limited to fraud in obtaining citizenship. But the statute is broad as to what constitutes fraud in procuring citizenship. Any "concealment of a material fact or ... willful misrepresentation" can be grounds for revoking citizenship.
> Supreme Court cases in the 1950s and ’60s that declared unconstitutional several statutes pertaining to denationalization.
Not ones related to fraud in procuring naturalized status.
In many cases, they are using detention where a simple bond would work. There's a NY Times opinion today detailing this: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/opinion/mass-detention-im...
It's hard to see this policy choice as anything other than putting pressure on people alleged to have committed a misdemeanor. Meanwhile, it will cost the federal government gobs of money to set up these camps, hire guards, and provide for the detainees. I don't want the government to waste my taxes on cruelty.
But the bonds didn't work! That is what the prior administrations did, and the result of that was 22 million illegal immigrants in the country (according to a Yale and MIT study from 2018: https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/yale-study-finds-twic...).
The law specifically provides for detention and release on bond as two alternatives the Attorney General may choose between:
"On a warrant issued by the Attorney General, an alien may be arrested and detained pending a decision on whether the alien is to be removed from the United States. Except as provided in subsection (c) and pending such decision, the Attorney General— (1) may continue to detain the arrested alien; and (2) may release the alien on— (A) bond of at least $1,500 with security approved by, and containing conditions prescribed by, the Attorney General; or (B) conditional parole..." 8 USC 1226(a).
And case law concerning this law, Ozawa vs United States:
> The decision goes on to deny that the common population could construe Ozawa, a man of Japanese descent, as white (thus, making him ineligible under section 2169 of the Revised Statutes of the United States).[9] Thus he could not be naturalized, under the current laws, in 1922.
Yeah, the article is the misleading one. Sure bud. Thanks for coming here to defend racism as a basis for citizenship.
> WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is dramatically expanding an effort to _revoke U.S. citizenship_ for foreign-born Americans _as it works to curb immigration_
Next up is rounding up citizens into camps as it works to curb immigration, and we all know what comes next as it works to curb immigration.
Well, I hope for the citizens that they're married to card-carrying MAGA members highly ranked in the Party, as this is the only thing that matters and gives one a shield.
Headline makes it sound much more significant than it is.
I am a naturalized US citizen. If I want to critique the administration, this is a message to me -- am I sure? What if they decide to make an example out of me? Maybe I'd better keep quiet.
OutOfHere•1h ago