“Immigrants are dirty, filthy s***,” which is based on the policy released in leaked documents distributed by the company before Donald Trump took office, with Meta being on Facebook and Instagram platforms. It is a statement that does not flag it as hate speech. This is because it is necessary to classify statements like hate speech as “we are not in contact with mainstream discourse.”
This change in what constitutes “mainstream” speeches to prepare the basis for Trump’s new immigration policy will create convenient and profitable arrangements between those who control data and those who control borders. It is shown. It was clear on the day of the inauguration. There, after making a large donation to Trump’s campaign, the so-called Brolicker Key CEO of a major high-tech company was the honorary guest.
But Big Tech, which provides services to support brutal immigration policies, is not a new phenomenon. For quite some time before Trump, the US government has partnered with tech companies to build a wide range of surveillance devices that can target anyone, not just immigrants.
Instead of relying solely on data, it can legally collect itself, and the government supplements those records with information to purchase from data brokers. Data captured by a mobile phone, car, or utility meter.
Companies such as Palantir, Amazon, and Salesforce offer services to integrate all of these different sources into tools they can use to target immigrants. Among the services, what Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agencies are actively seeking is what they call “predictive analytics and modeling.” Since 2020, ICE and other related institutions have spent around $7.8 billion to $1500 billion with 263 private companies on immigration-related technologies.
Since 2004, the US government has invested more resources in “e-carceration,” including technologies such as ankle bracelets. In 2018, ICE partnered with BI INC to create SmartLink, a phone app focused on surveillance as a “humanitarian” alternative to detention. However, despite claims about privacy, independent reports explain how SmartLink collects all kinds of sensitive data, including “face images, audio prints, medical information, pregnancy, birth.”
The government also collected massive amounts of immigrant DNA as part of a project launched during Trump’s first term, but continued by Joe Biden. Authorities say that, on average, official statistics show that immigrants commit fewer crimes than US-born citizens, data helps to resolve future crimes committed by immigrants. He claims that.
The role of major technologies in implementing US immigration policies will only expand under Trump’s second term. The president has wasted time doing good things with his campaign promises, and has issued many executive orders that have already transformed immigration policies.
These orders aim to end birthright citizenship and expand the raids to “sanctuary” areas such as schools and churches. The aim is to indict citizens who refuse to cooperate with authorities, terminate the release of immigrants, cancel and expand all asylum bookings. Undocumented pools of individuals are subject to the fast track deportation, among other measures.
Trump’s executive order could be contested in court. Therefore, it is important to legalize hate speech in public places. Mainstream approval can be ensured and thus discouraged from legal challenges. That’s where big tech companies are set up to play a major role thanks to the hijacking of free speech.
“Free speech” when unilaterally equipped with something powerful can become a form of censorship, a weapon of oppression and destruction. I saw this in Myanmar in 2017, and today I’m in Palestine. In these and other cases, companies like Meta and X use technology to promote speeches that destroy vulnerable groups to open the door to physical violence against them It has played a role.
The combination of extremist politics and corporate technology in the service of anti-immigrant rhetoric, as well as anti-black, anti-women, anti-LGBTQ and anti-Muslim rhetoric, will become the public sphere of member states for the coming years. Myanmar did not humble big technology. It ensured the kind of power it can swing around.
This is why companies like Meta and X are doing the opposite of what is necessary to prevent such things from happening again (from moderation, safety and privacy perspectives), and we’ve seen it. So, Trump is making use of its power in Springfield, Ohio, social media has promoted an anti-immigration epidemic ahead of the US presidential election.
Faceing this issue isn’t just about gaining the media literacy skills needed to combat disinformation circulating on Facebook or X. Everyone on these platforms will win the most likes or shares and at least become a reality for them. Given the harshness of the real world, users will never stop being drawn to living in those fantasies. And those who control behind the scenes algorithms don’t easily abandon their power.
While Trump and his supporters are convenient to condemn the disaster they are about to unfold in the near future, Democrats cite the neoliberal policies of deregulation and privatization that allowed the Broligarhi class to exist. It is important to remember what we have supported mainly. 1st place.
Given that neither party is able to articulate a viable political agenda to protect the fundamental human rights of immigrants, resistance must manifest at the local level. This can be done by challenging illegal deportation in district courts, opposing disinformation via local media, and strengthening links between local, national and international civic organizations. It is encouraging to see cities, villages, churches and schools continue to adopt sanctuary policies. They refuse to work with the federal government in enforcing xenophobic policies despite being threatened by Trump’s enforcement orders.
Opposition parties are becoming difficult to enact in the face of a nation of all-knowing victors supported by men who gained power by masterminding colonial datagrabs, the wealthiest man in the world. Masu. Seeing genai continues this plunder, we must reject the basic lies of colonialism. That means that it may be correct when it comes to accessing global resources. The welfare of immigrants, and in fact, all of us, are heavily dependent on whether we can collectively retrieve the data collected from us to direct, and what purpose we want to use this resource. Masu.
The views expressed in this article are the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.