Latest news with #AlligatorAlcatraz
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
DHS is posting Americana paintings and migrant mugshots. The art world is not happy.
The Department of Homeland Security's social media feed in early July was largely filled with images of 'Alligator Alcatraz' and promises to 'MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN' by deporting the 'WORST OF THE WORST.' Then the agency shared an image of Thomas Kinkade's 'Morning Pledge,' a painting depicting children walking to a schoolhouse where an American flag towers in the yard. 'Protect the Homeland,' DHS wrote. The American artist died in 2012, but when his family saw how his work was being used by the Trump administration, they were aghast. Kinkade was deeply committed to humanitarian causes, a spokesperson for the Kinkade Family Foundation told The Washington Post, and made paintings that offered a sense of dignity and hope, especially to those denied basic human rights. That felt starkly in contrast with DHS's mass deportation campaign and its social media account depicting immigrants as criminals. 'Like many of you, we were deeply troubled to see this image used to promote division and xenophobia associated with the ideals of DHS, as this is antithetical to our mission,' the foundation said in a statement it posted online. 'We stand firmly with our communities who have been threatened and targeted by DHS.' The painting was one of three that DHS posted on social media in July depicting idealized images of American life. The others include 19th-century painter John Gast's controversial 'American Progress' and contemporary artist Morgan Weistling's 'A Prayer for a New Life.' Weistling, the only of the artists still alive, has also spoken out against DHS's use of his painting. The images, bookended by posts cheering the administration's deportation campaign, have been widely shared by conservatives and sparked alarm among the artists, their families and some historians, who see their use as part of an effort to rewrite the past with an exclusionary view of American history. 'There's one side that's being presented as irredeemable criminals with no shade of gray allowed in, so people shouldn't have any reservation about the treatment of these people or use of very punitive measures because it's a caricature,' said Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, deputy director of the international program at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. 'Then, on the other side, here are the heroes.' Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, said the agency is honoring artwork that 'celebrates America's heritage and history.' 'If the media needs a history lesson on the brave men and women who blazed the trails and forged this republic from the sweat of their brow, we are happy to send them a history textbook,' she added. 'This administration is unapologetically proud of American history and American heritage.' As of Tuesday morning, the Gast post had 16.7 million views on X, the Weistling post had 19.3 million views, and the Kinkade post had 16.8 million views. The paintings have been shared by far-right activist Jack Posobiec; right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson; former GOP representatives Matt Gaetz (Florida), Madison Cawthorn (North Carolina) and Mayra Flores (Texas); the Nevada GOP; and others. 'Beautiful,' Johnson wrote as he shared the Kinkade post. The use of the paintings in official government communications comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape the country's arts and cultural landscape. That has included a major overhaul of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, drastic cuts at the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a March executive order to 'restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.' DHS's social media feed is showcasing work by American artists — while also sending chilling and at times mocking messages to undocumented immigrants. The agency recently posted a meme of a skeleton lifting a barbell with the message: 'My body is a machine that turns ICE funding into mass deportations.' The account also posted an image of alligators wearing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hats with the caption 'Coming soon,' as it teased the arrival of 'Alligator Alcatraz,' the detention facility Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ordered constructed in the Everglades. Earlier this year, the White House posted a video of migrants shackled before boarding a deportation flight, captioned with: 'ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight.' DHS posted Kinkade's 'Morning Pledge' on July 1. Much of Kinkade's work is centered around themes of home, family and religion, and it has appealed to and been associated with conservative values. But the Kinkade Family Foundation, which preserves and promotes the painter's archives and charitable giving, said it did not authorize the use of his artwork and sent a cease-and-desist letter to DHS after learning it had used the image. A spokesperson for the artist's foundation said Kinkade's intent with the painting was to express his desire for a place where 'basic human rights are granted regardless of where we come from or who we may be.' Online, the organization shared a message stating its support for those targeted by DHS, 'especially our immigrant, BIPOC, undocumented, LGBTQ+, and disabled relatives and neighbors.' The foundation said it made multiple attempts to reach out to the agency, which still had not responded as of Monday. DHS did not respond to the Kinkade family's complaints in its statement to The Post. Two weeks after sharing that painting, DHS posted one by Weistling depicting a couple holding a baby with a wagon in the background, along with the caption 'Remember your Homeland's Heritage.' The agency said the painting was titled a 'New Life in a New Land,' though its actual name is 'A Prayer for a New Life.' Weistling's website said the 2020 painting portrays two parents praying to God for the baby's 'fragile life on their perilous journey.' Weistling did not respond to an interview request. But on his official website, he posted: 'Attention: The recent DHS post on social media using a painting of mine that I painted a few years ago was used without my permission.' Then, on Wednesday, DHS shared an image of John Gast's 'American Progress,' along with the caption: 'A Heritage to be proud of, a Homeland worth Defending.' The 1872 painting features an ethereal woman in white robes floating westward across an American landscape as she carries a schoolbook and unspools a telegraph wire. As she moves westward, Native Americans and wild buffalo appear to flee at her sight into a darkened frontier as White settlers move in — bathed in sunlight. Martha Sandweiss, a history professor at Princeton University, said the painting was originally commissioned to be used as an illustration in a popular western guidebook and later became known as an image that illustrated the concept of 'Manifest Destiny' in American history textbooks. The doctrine argued that the nation had a God-given responsibility to expand its footprint. Such ideas were popular at the time, Sandweiss said, and used as a type of propaganda to encourage people to travel west and settle. 'That the Department of Homeland Security is using the picture for this purpose is so ironic,' Sandweiss said. 'This is an image that's about the invasion of homelands. When we look at this picture, we're in the homeland, the imagined homeland of many, many Native tribes. … This is not an American homeland that we're looking at to be defended; this is an American invasion of other people's homelands.' For some Native American activists and advocacy groups, the posts from the agency, led by Secretary Kristi L. Noem, underscores long-standing tensions between Indigenous communities and federal law enforcement. 'It doesn't surprise me that Homeland Security would do this,' said Cris Stainbrook, former president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, which works with Native nations to recover their homelands. He said that when Noem was governor she 'pretty much embodied the Gast side of how you'd look at Manifest Destiny.' He cited her dispute with Native tribes who resisted her attempts to dismantle travel checkpoints they had set up during the coronavirus pandemic. More broadly, Stainbrook said, much of 19th-century visual art painted a one-sided, sanitized version of U.S. history, while omitting the destruction of Native communities. 'Only in the last 50 to 60 years have you really seen Native artists come out and do a much more accurate portrayal,' he said, but those works still do not reach the public in the way that Euro-American art and media do. Banulescu-Bogdan, of the Migration Policy Institute, described the use of the paintings as a 'classic technique of nationalism' because they seek to 'invoke the mythology of a shared past.' The contrast of the paintings with the images on DHS's social media feeds showing immigrants accused of violent crimes seeks to evoke a 'good vs. evil' image, she said. In doing so, the agency is probably seeking to target Trump's supporters, rather than posting more traditional public service announcements on government accounts. 'There's this reification of true Americans, the use of this very identifiable Americana, these classic paintings that harken back to a sort of post-Depression time of Americans reinventing themselves and engaging in nation-building,' Banulescu-Bogdan said. Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, said DHS does have a history of experimenting with its social media accounts, citing the Transportation Security Administration, which is part of the agency, as an example. TSA has leaned into humor while sharing images of unexpected items confiscated from passenger bags. But he added that the Trump administration is seeking to use government to advance its message. 'Clearly this administration's filled with MAGA true believers in the way the first one wasn't, and I think the sort of communicating on social media just becomes fluent to the staffers throughout the administration,' he said. 'This administration feels empowered and emboldened to not be constrained by norms and precedents.' Clara Ence Morse contributed to this report.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘Alligator Alcatraz' detainees held without charges, barred from legal access, lawyers say
Civil rights lawyers seeking a temporary restraining order against an immigration detention centre in the Florida Everglades say that 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees have been barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges and that a federal immigration court has cancelled bond hearings. The immigration lawyers argued on Monday during a virtual hearing that the detainees' constitutional rights were being violated and that 100 detainees already had been deported from 'Alligator Alcatraz'. Lawyers who have shown up for bond hearings for 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees have been told that the immigration court does not have jurisdiction over their clients. The civil rights lawyers have demanded that federal and state officials identify an immigration court that has jurisdiction over the detainees so it can start accepting petitions for bond. 'This is an emergency situation,' Eunice Cho, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, said during the hearing in federal court in Miami. 'Officers at 'Alligator Alcatraz' are going around trying to force people to sign deportation orders without the ability to speak to counsel.' But Nicholas Meros, a lawyer representing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, said the situation had evolved since the civil rights groups' lawsuit was filed on July 16. Video-conference rooms had been set up so detainees can talk to lawyers, and in-person meetings between detainees and lawyers had started. 'There have been a number of facts that have changed,' Meros said during Monday's hearing US District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, an appointee of US President Donald Trump, did not make an immediate ruling. He asked the civil rights lawyers to refile their complaint to consolidate their pleadings as a request for a preliminary injunction and he set a briefing schedule that will end with an in-person court hearing on August 18.
CBS News
a day ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Lawyers argue in Miami federal court that Alligator Alcatraz violates detainees constitutional rights
Civil rights lawyers seeking a temporary restraining order against an immigration detention center in the Everglades say that Alligator Alcatraz detainees have been barred from meeting attorneys, are being held without any charges and that a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. The immigration attorneys argued Monday during a virtual hearing that the detainees' constitutional rights were being violated and that 100 detainees already had been deported from Alligator Alcatraz. Lawyers who have shown up for bond hearings for Alligator Alcatraz detainees have been told that the immigration court doesn't have jurisdiction over their clients, and the civil rights attorneys demanded that federal and state officials identify an immigration court that has jurisdiction over the detainees so it can start accepting petitions for bond. "This is an emergency situation," Eunice Cho, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, said during the hearing in federal court in Miami. "Officers at Alligator Alcatraz are going around trying to force people to sign deportation orders without the ability to speak to counsel." But Nicholas Meros, an attorney representing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said the situation had evolved since the civil rights groups' lawsuit was filed July 16. Video-conference rooms had been set up so detainees can talk to attorneys, and in-person meetings between detainees and attorneys had started. "There have been a number of facts that have changed," Meros said during Monday's hearing U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, an appointee of President Donald Trump, didn't make an immediate ruling. He asked the civil rights attorneys to refile their complaint to consolidate their pleadings as a request for a preliminary injunction, and he set a briefing schedule that will end with an in-person court hearing on Aug. 18. The judge warned that his role was to provide relief to any proven constitutional violations and said that "attempts to transform the court into the warden of Alligator Alcatraz is not going to happen here." The judge also allowed the civil rights groups to argue for the release of any agreements between the federal and state governments showing who has authority over the detention center, a murky issue since it opened a month ago. "And that's part of the problem — who is doing what in this facility?" Ruiz said. The lawsuit is the second one challenging Alligator Alcatraz. Environmental groups last month sued federal and state officials asking that the project built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades be halted because the process didn't follow state and federal environmental laws. Attorneys for the state of Florida have argued in both cases that the federal court's southern district in Florida was the wrong venue since the airstrip is located in neighboring Collier County, which is a part of the middle district, even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County. A hearing over whether the southern district venue is proper in the environmental case is set for Wednesday. Critics have condemned the facility as a cruel and inhumane threat to detainees, while DeSantis and other Republican state officials have defended it as part of the state's aggressive push to support President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has praised Florida for coming forward with the idea, as the department looks to significantly expand its immigration detention capacity.
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Attorneys: ‘Alligator Alcatraz' detainees held without charges, barred from legal access
Advertisement 'This is an unprecedented situation where hundreds of detainees are held incommunicado, with no ability to access the courts, under legal authority that has never been explained and may not exist,' the immigration attorneys wrote. 'This is an unprecedented and disturbing situation.' The lawsuit is the second one challenging 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Environmental groups last month sued federal and state officials asking that the project built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades be halted because the process didn't follow state and federal environmental laws. Critics have condemned the facility as a cruel and inhumane threat to the ecologically sensitive wetlands, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republican state officials have defended it as part of the state's aggressive push to support President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. Advertisement US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has praised Florida for coming forward with the idea, as the department looks to significantly expand its immigration detention capacity.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
‘Alligator Alcatraz' detainees held without charges, barred from legal access, attorneys say
Lawyers seeking a temporary restraining order against an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades say that 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees have been barred from meeting attorneys, are being held without any charges and that a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. A virtual hearing in federal court in Miami was being held Monday on a lawsuit that was filed July 16. A new motion on the case was filed Friday. Lawyers who have shown up for bond hearings for 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees have been told that the immigration court doesn't have jurisdiction over their clients, the attorneys wrote in court papers. The immigration attorneys demanded that federal and state officials identify an immigration court that has jurisdiction over the detainees and start accepting petitions for bond, claiming the detainees constitutional rights to due process are being violated. 'This is an unprecedented situation where hundreds of detainees are held incommunicado, with no ability to access the courts, under legal authority that has never been explained and may not exist,' the immigration attorneys wrote. 'This is an unprecedented and disturbing situation.' The lawsuit is the second one challenging 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Environmental groups last month sued federal and state officials asking that the project built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades be halted because the process didn't follow state and federal environmental laws. Critics have condemned the facility as a cruel and inhumane threat to the ecologically sensitive wetlands, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican state officials have defended it as part of the state's aggressive push to support President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has praised Florida for coming forward with the idea, as the department looks to significantly expand its immigration detention capacity. Schneider writes for the Associated Press.
