Project 2025 Democracy Is Born With Bloodshed And Toil, But Dies With A Thunderous Applause

"Democracy is not a spectator sport." - Marian Wright Edelman

"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson

"Democracy dies in darkness." - The Washington Post

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

"A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience." - John Dewey

"Democracy is fragile and must be protected. It requires constant care and effort from all of us." - Barack Obama

"The health of a democracy is measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens." - Alexis de Tocqueville

"Elections alone do not a democracy make." - Barack Obama

"A functioning democracy is fragile. It requires not just adherence to the law but to the spirit of the law." - Joe Biden

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." - Winston Churchill

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." - John Adams

"Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments." - Alexander Hamilton

"Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths." - James Madison

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." - Benjamin Franklin

"An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others." - Thomas Jefferson

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." - Abraham Lincoln

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." - Alexis de Tocqueville

"Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal." - Aristotle

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism." - George Washington

Project 2025's Immigration Reform Proposals

Restructuring Immigration Oversight

Project 2025 proposes abolishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and replacing it with a new immigration-focused agency. This agency would incorporate multiple entities, including Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and certain functions from the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice (DOJ). Some additional immigration-related functions could also be privatized.

Restricting Refugee Admissions and Asylum Access

The plan aims to restrict refugee admissions and increase processing fees for asylum seekers. Higher fees would apply to immigrants seeking expedited processing, viewed as a potential revenue source. Project 2025 emphasizes financial deterrents in the immigration process as a means of controlling entry volume.

Nationwide Immigration Enforcement

Project 2025 outlines policies for expanded immigration enforcement throughout the United States, including the arrest, detention, and deportation of immigration violators. Stephen Miller, a key architect of past Trump administration immigration policies, is a primary influence on these proposals and is under consideration for a leadership role should Trump return to office.

Utilizing the National Guard and Federal Agencies

The initiative envisions deputizing the National Guard in conservative states to act as immigration enforcement under federal command. This force could also operate in states with differing immigration policies. Plans include potentially authorizing local law enforcement and federal agencies like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to assist in large-scale immigration raids.

Mass Detention Facilities

Individuals detained in immigration raids would be transported to large-scale holding facilities along the border, likely in Texas, to await deportation. These internment-style camps mark a significant expansion of federal detention infrastructure. Additionally, President Trump has proposed the idea of detaining homeless individuals in similar camps.

Border Wall Funding

Project 2025 would secure additional funding for the construction and expansion of the border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, continuing a key component of Trump's earlier immigration strategy.

Withholding Disaster Relief from Non-Compliant States

Project 2025 recommends withholding Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief funds from states and local governments that do not comply with federal immigration policies, such as failing to share information with federal immigration authorities.

Conclusion

Project 2025 envisions a robust and centralized immigration enforcement strategy, involving a restructuring of federal immigration agencies and deploying federal and state resources for expansive enforcement operations. Critics warn that these measures could intensify tensions between federal and local governments and significantly impact immigrant communities nationwide.