Trump's darkest vision—and the hyperpoliticized agency that could help him realize it

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Support our nonprofit journalism]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     August 7, 2024 Hi folks. I'm Ian Gordon, an editorial director here at Mother Jones. In the spring of 1924, shortly after passing an exclusionary immigration law known as the National Origins Act, Congress earmarked $1 million for "additional land-border patrol." The country’s newest law enforcement agency staffed up so quickly that it didn’t bother with a test for new recruits—and then watched as many of them suddenly quit. It was an inauspicious start, and it foreshadowed the Border Patrol’s longtime status as a bureaucratic backwater. Even as late as 1993, the Border Patrol employed only 4,000 agents nationwide. Then came 9/11. As "securing our borders" became a key component of the new national security paradigm, the Border Patrol became the beneficiary of extreme largesse. Yet the oversight necessary to manage a ballooning federal agency—let alone one that for decades had made its own rules—[never really caught up](. The Border Patrol added thousands of agents, and scandals quickly followed. Infiltration by cartels. Corruption. Assault. Rape. Murder. Within a few years, the Border Patrol had become one of the [nation’s largest, and least accountable, law enforcement agencies](. At the same time, the US-Mexico border became even more politicized. And then Donald Trump entered the fray. Trump’s latest campaign relies on a familiar script: decrying an “[invasion](” at our southern border, calling for [mass deportations](, and still promising to [build that wall](. The Border Patrol is once again a key part of his plans. So for our September+October issue, we investigated the agency’s sharp growth, [its troubling record]( on [civil liberties](, [its culture of impunity](, and its role in shaping the [current political moment](—one that echoes the anti-immigrant fever that led to [the agency’s creation a century ago](. —Ian Gordon Advertisement [Feeding the Machine]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [At Harris Rally in Philadelphia, the Return of “Joy”]( Everyone is exuberant about a new Democratic ticket. Now, the hard part. BY SERENA LIN SPONSORED CONTENT FROM BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING   Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labor Powering A.I. From three experts at the Oxford Internet Institute, an eye-opening new book about workers’ rights, an exposé of what “artificial intelligence” really means in terms of human labor and exploitation, and a resounding argument for a more equitable future. [Learn more about]([Feeding the Machine]([here](. [Trending] [Tim Walz is leading the way on Long Covid funding]( BY JULIA MÉTRAUX   [Why the Border Patrol went MAGA]( BY EMILY GREEN   [One of the most vocal proponents of a ceasefire in Gaza just lost]( BY SOPHIE HURWITZ   [“He’s an agent. No one will believe me over him.”]( BY ERIN SIEGAL MCINTYRE Advertisement [Feeding the Machine]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [No boundaries]( The Border Patrol has grown far bigger—and crueler—since its founding 100 years ago. Trump wants to take the gloves all the way off. BY MOTHER JONES MOTHER JONES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE   DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY You’re a Mother Jones Daily reader, so you know the stakes and you know reporting like ours matters so freaking much in these next few months (and beyond). About that: We need [the support of our newsletter readers like never before]( to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our targets and urgently need all hands on deck. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field. Please help with a donation if you can—even just a few bucks helps. A [monthly gift]( would be incredible. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Share it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755