Deportee, Jimmy LaFave

"Well, the radio man said, hey, you know they're just deportees."

'The genesis of "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)" reportedly occurred when Woody Guthrie was struck by the fact that radio and newspaper coverage of the Los Gatos plane crash did not give the victims' names, but instead referred to them merely as "deportees".

In addition to being a lament for the braceros killed in the crash, the opening lines of "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)"

are another protest by Guthrie. At the time, government policies paid farmers to destroy their crops in order to keep farm production low and prices high.[7] Guthrie felt that it was wrong to render food inedible by poisoning it in a world where hungry people lived.'

In his Substack post for April 14, 2025. Robert Reich asks: How close do you believe we’re coming to these tipping points?

I think it is similar to wondering if we are going to meet tipping points that bring the US into a recession. I tend to agree with those who indicate we are already in a recession. People can only afford to do so much, they can only have their confidence and trust jerked around so much before they lose their optimism in an economy that is supposed to work for them. The majority of the American public does not buy into the actions of the administration and its adamant defense that it is ultimately doing good for the country. It doesn't feel good. You know, if it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and craps like a duck, it's a duck.

So it is with dictatorship. We are already experiencing what it is like to be in a dictatorship. 47 does as he pleases and finds ways to frame it as giving the American people what they asked for. He is surrounded by a cabinet filled with those who contributed handsomely to his campaign and are eager to explain to us little people just how justified 47 is and just how mistaken we are to believe otherwise. We are told we should just trust them. Their arrogance is overwhelming.

Deporting a man who has no known criminal record, no proven ties to gang activity--activity conveniently grammarized as terrorism--who, on the contrary, has proven to be a productive family man living and working in the US for over a decade, without due process, is itself a criminal act. Such an action completely devoid of respect for individual rights would be unacceptable when committed by anyone other than a dictator who rules over a citizenry which considers him benevolent. The unacceptable becomes acceptable when it becomes accepted. One could argue that a dictatorship is already shifted into higher gear.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was granted asylum and spent his time in the US proving his desire to live a lawful life which contributed to his community. The administration could have "facilitated" and advocated for his release, but they chose not to. Instead, they made unproven claims not supported by US court decisions to defer to the president of El Salvador, who, most likely doesn't care one way or the other but is beholden to the US government to the tune of $6 million.

Deporting immigrants without due process is an egregious misconduct showing complete disregard for what we, as Americans, value. What makes it so particularly abhorrent in this case, is the lack of evidence to back actions which have led to the devastation of a father and his family. And, with the constant framing of those who do not agree with the administration's conduct or iterations of truth as undesirables needing incarceration, discipline, and silencing, there is no reason to believe the retributions by the current administration will not go beyond immigrants and, indeed, go after those who have long been considered US citizens.

'Trump administration officials on Monday pushed back against the idea of bringing him back, arguing it was up to El Salvador. The president of El Salvador said he lacked the power to return him, saying it would be “preposterous” to “smuggle a terrorist into the United States.”'