America, Conspiracy, Equality, Fascism, Freedom, Politics, Presidency, Racism, Rights

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and America’s Slide into Authoritarianism

April 8, 2025April 14, 2025By plicabl
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In any democracy, citizenship is more than a legal status. It is a sacred promise, a covenant guaranteeing rights, liberties, and fundamental dignity. But what happens when that promise becomes meaningless? What happens when citizenship no longer safeguards you against arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, or even execution at the hands of your own government?

The terrifying case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, though perhaps not yet a household name, is a clear indicator that such a chilling scenario is no longer hypothetical—it’s happening now.

The Illusion of Citizenship

Imagine for a moment the horror of being told by your own government that, despite your birth, your documentation, your entire life spent here, you are no longer considered a citizen—not because of any judicial determination, but because an executive officer, without oversight, has simply declared it so. Imagine being denied access to lawyers, to courts, even to the basic procedural mechanisms designed precisely to prevent such abuses. And imagine the final indignity: being cast out from your own country, prevented from returning—even if a judge later rules that you were wrongfully stripped of your rights.

This is no longer an abstract thought experiment. It is precisely the scenario unfolding in front of us.

Under Donald Trump’s America, citizenship is fast becoming meaningless. The legal mechanisms designed to protect individuals from arbitrary state actions have been steadily eroded—first subtly, and now blatantly. And if the government can unilaterally strip citizenship or simply deny acknowledging it, then the terrifying question we must ask ourselves becomes:

Does citizenship even matter anymore?

If citizenship—supposedly the strongest shield against arbitrary government violence—is worthless, what protection do ordinary Americans have against unchecked executive power?

The answer, chillingly, is none.

No Due Process, No Protection, No Safety

In Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case, the government boldly asserts that it owes no explanation—not to courts, not to the media, and certainly not to Garcia himself. He has no right, it claims, to challenge their decision in court. He has no right to speak with a lawyer. He has no right to see evidence. In short, he has no rights at all.

This might sound like something from a dystopian novel or from a faraway authoritarian regime. But this is America today. The executive has, with alarming audacity, decided it can discard constitutional safeguards whenever convenient. And Garcia’s nightmare can quickly become anyone’s nightmare—yours, mine, or your neighbor’s—because without due process, no one is truly safe.

This new precedent isn’t just about immigrants or border crossings. It sets the stage for a future in which anyone, citizen or not, can be stripped of all protections on the mere suspicion—or even the vague accusation—of wrongdoing. Today it’s Garcia. Tomorrow, it could be your community leader, your journalist neighbor, your professor friend—or even you.

A Future Where No One is Safe

Historically, every slide into authoritarianism begins with the targeted oppression of an “outsider,” a vulnerable minority group, someone labeled as different, suspicious, or dangerous. Gradually, this oppression expands, as the categories of “enemy” multiply until anyone perceived as opposing the regime becomes an easy target. Soon enough, it becomes clear that there’s no limit to who might be next.

This administration has already sent a clear signal: if citizenship does not grant fundamental legal protections, then those protections simply do not exist for anyone.

And if these protections no longer exist, the United States ceases to be a democracy. Instead, it becomes a place of fear, uncertainty, and arbitrary state violence—no different from the oppressive regimes America claims to oppose.

From Deportations to Gulags

We are rapidly approaching a moment when the Republicans—and Trump specifically—will openly argue that not every American citizen deserves due process. They’ve been preparing the public for this for years. Trump’s continuous demonization of minorities, his attacks on dissenting journalists as “enemies of the people,” and his rhetoric about “agitators,” “thugs,” or “terrorists” among peaceful protesters are not random attacks—they’re strategic moves in a larger plan.

It begins with the normalization of abuses against immigrants and minorities. Soon, it escalates to justifying the denial of due process even to full-fledged citizens accused of vague threats like “subversion,” “radicalism,” or “un-American activities.” Eventually, it leads to open persecution of critics, opposition leaders, and civil rights advocates. Historically, authoritarian regimes have always taken these same steps. America is not immune.

In fact, we’re already seeing it.

The Demonization and Sweeping Up of Dissent

Think about what happens next: under the guise of national security or law and order, the administration begins to openly target community activists, civil rights lawyers, journalists, intellectuals, or even political opponents. The public, already conditioned by years of propaganda about dangerous “others,” may initially look away—until it’s far too late.

Trump has openly praised authoritarian leaders worldwide who jail or disappear their political enemies. He’s admired regimes that silence their critics, muzzle the media, and operate without any judicial constraints. Why would anyone think he’s incapable of attempting to replicate such oppression here?

As Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case tragically proves, the administration is testing the waters—gauging how far it can go before encountering serious opposition. And the more these abuses pass unchallenged, the bolder they will become.

Cow the Public, Silence Dissent

Authoritarianism is built not just on oppression, but on fear—fear that forces individuals into silence, even as injustices become ever more blatant. The objective isn’t just to remove certain people; it’s to terrify everyone else into submission.

Once ordinary people begin to fear speaking out, attending a rally, posting online, or even privately expressing criticism, democracy dies.

We are at that precipice right now. If citizenship can be taken away—or simply ignored—at the whim of a government official, if due process no longer exists for certain groups or certain accusations, then no citizen can feel safe to exercise their basic freedoms of speech, assembly, or political participation. Soon enough, expressing disagreement or even mild criticism could become grounds for suspicion, detention, or worse.

A Nation on Edge

Americans must wake up to the fact that our country stands at the edge of authoritarianism, poised on the brink of irrevocable collapse. The dismantling of due process for citizens, as exemplified by Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s alarming case, signals that we’re much further along this dangerous path than most realize.

To those who still doubt such things could happen here, history shows time and again how quickly democracies unravel. Rights once considered sacred and inviolable become expendable. Freedoms once cherished become dangerous. People who were once proud citizens find themselves, overnight, enemies of the state.

From Police Brutality to State-Sanctioned Killings

We’ve seen hints of this for years. Republican politicians and pundits have already set dangerous precedents by rationalizing police violence. They have effectively argued—openly—that suspicion alone is sufficient grounds for lethal force. If your life can be taken away based on a mere officer’s suspicion, then why would due process be respected in less severe matters?

The horrifying message is clear: the government can execute citizens in broad daylight without accountability. If such lethal violence is already accepted against certain groups, imagine what becomes permissible when political dissent itself is labeled as dangerous. Citizens expressing peaceful opposition could easily find themselves labeled as threats, enemies, or agitators—targets not just of harassment, but of imprisonment or worse.

Resistance or Submission: America’s Choice

Right now, the American people face a critical choice. Will we allow the fundamental protections of citizenship—due process, legal representation, judicial oversight—to be stripped away by executive fiat? Will we accept a future where no citizen is truly safe, where suspicion alone can rob you of your rights, your freedom, or even your life?

Or will we stand up now, resist openly, and reject this creeping authoritarianism before it becomes unstoppable?

The story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia should terrify every single American, regardless of political affiliation. Because if his citizenship does not protect him, your citizenship will not protect you. When due process becomes optional, everyone becomes vulnerable.

This administration has already declared that citizenship is meaningless—now it’s up to us to prove otherwise. The cost of silence, of submission, of compliance is too terrifying to contemplate.

In the face of authoritarianism, the only safe stance is resistance. Anything less means accepting that America itself is becoming an unrecognizable, undemocratic, and oppressive state.

The terrifying truth is clear: Today, it’s Garcia. Tomorrow, it could be you.

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