These days, the streets of Minneapolis look like a scene straight out of a Clint Eastwood western shot in the deserts of Arizona. Strange-looking, masked ICE agents, who seem to take themselves to all-powerful town sheriffs, are stopping people in the streets, in their homes, and inside shops. Anyone with darker skin, a slightly large nose, or the faintest foreign accent in their English is fair game is deemed suspicious for them. They can be questioned on the spot and if necessary, sent off immediately to ICE detention centers. The atmosphere feels like those Hollywood movies where the world is threatened, sometimes by Russians, sometimes by Chinese, sometimes by aliens and order is restored by American police or soldiers. But this time, it’s as if the scriptwriters flipped the roles: the invaders from outer space are ICE agents, and the people trying to protect the country are ordinary Americans.
ICE wasn’t invented overnight by Donald Trump. It’s a specialized immigration and border enforcement agency that the US government has relied on for decades. However, until Trump’s second term ICE officers were confined to borders and airports, tasked with preventing illegal or improperly documented entries into the country.
After a largely unsuccessful first term, Trump offered the followings to highly stressed American public in his effective electoral campaign:
- End wars around the world and deliver a peaceful global order
- Bring home thousands of US troops stationed at nearly 800 overseas bases and end the US’s role as the world’s policeman
- Scale back the American presence in NATO or completely withdraw from it
- Put an end to the increase in cost-of-living
- Bring back industries that fled the US and create jobs for Americans
- Stop illegal immigration and replace foreign labor with Americans
Now, 12 months after winning the election on these pledges, Trump has failed to deliver on any of them. Even his efforts on immigration remain troubled.
Problems in ICE’s management, and especially the decision to unleash ICE agents from borders and airports onto city streets, have triggered outrage even among Americans who traditionally hold the police in high regard. The backlash has been particularly strong because Trump has directed ICE operations toward states and cities mostly resided by Democrats, turning immigration enforcement into an openly partisan weapon. In an already deeply polarized country, this has pushed social divisions even further.
In Oregon, Washington, California, and most recently Minnesota, ICE raids in cities known for their “progressive” stance have produced scenes that feel more like horror movies. Mexican, Latin American, Somali, and other foreign-born residents are dragged from their homes, workplaces, farms, and even schools, and sent to ICE detention camps or prisons without due process. Already many people lost their lives during the activities of ICE. Among them, there are white American citizens as well.
With each passing day, these practices are likely to revive a culture of resistance among Americans. As already seen in Minneapolis, this could lead to mass protests and general strikes.
During his first term, Trump was effectively boxed in by the investigation of the “Russian probe.” Over four years, he was unable to deliver on almost any of his political promises or policies. The globalist wing of the US ruling class managed to neutralize his presidency and ensure that his first term was largely wasted.
Trump was believed to have entered his second term better prepared. Yet he now appears to have been sidelined once again, this time through a sex scandal of “Epstein files”. The team placed within his administration by America’s globalist establishment, particularly in foreign policy and internal security, has taken control, managed to steer Trump toward their own agenda, back into the globalist camp.
As a result, US policy today looks almost self-destructive, both at home and abroad. The Trump administration is increasingly alienating not only global public opinion, but its own citizens as well. By exercising power far beyond its actual political capacity, domestically and internationally, it has begun to antagonize nearly everyone at once. This trend will continue.
Just ten months are left until the November 2026 elections. The moment Democrats regain control of the House and Senate, in which Trump has a thin majority, we will see moves to push Trump out of office. In fact, the early warning signs of this are already visible.
Trump’s presidency has failed to deliver meaningful success on nearly all six issues that carried him back to the White House. And he won’t be able to in the remaining ten months.
Cover graph: Fox News.
