Trump Invokes Emergency Powers for Warrantless Immigration Raids on Homes, Churches, and Schools as Private Prison Stock Soars

As I wrote on Inauguration Day earlier this week, President Donald Trump is beginning his second term by invoking three major "emergency orders" which give him the power to take broad and sweeping actions to accomplish his goals that would otherwise be illegal if a "state of emergency" had not been declared to grant these alleged "emergency powers". Now, a couple of days since taking office, we are beginning to see the effects of one of those "emergency orders," which is to indiscriminately round up people living in the U.S. who are suspected of being here illegally, without any warrant issued by a judge. These warrantless searches are now being extended into people's homes, into churches, and into schools for children. At the same time these raids are being rolled out, stock in private prison companies where all of these illegal immigrants will be housed has skyrocketed in value since Trump's election victory. The first of these sweeping raids has been reported in California in the Central Valley, home to the largest agricultural production not only in the U.S. but also the world, bringing fear to the agricultural laborers our nation's food supply is dependent upon, who are now staying home from work and pulling their children out of schools. Food shortages and food inflation are sure to follow, making this a national security issue and a threat to the U.S. economy, in spite of the lies coming from the Trump camp that these warrantless immigration raids are necessary to protect national security, when in fact these actions threaten to do the exact opposite.