The United States of Autocracy is Fully Operational

Day 177 of the Trump administration brought stark evidence that America's democratic guardrails are not just bending—they no longer exist. From indefinite detention without judicial review to ICE agents interrogating children at baseball practice, the machinery of authoritarianism is fully operational.Thanks for reading Narativ with Zev Shalev ! This post is public so feel free to share it. Also, you can now become a paid subscriber at our special 35% off our annual rate and keep that rate FOREVER! It’s our best rate and it’s available to you right now.The most chilling development centers on a new ICE memo eliminating bond hearings for millions of immigrants. This sweeping directive orders agents to detain people "for the duration of their removal proceedings," creating a pathway to indefinite detention without constitutional protections. When combined with the $45 billion expansion to double detention capacity and the systematic firing of over 65 immigration judges, the picture becomes clear: Trump is building the infrastructure for mass indefinite detention.Join Olga and me tonight at 8 PM ET for Authoritarianism 101. Link is in this post:This isn't happening in shadows. In Manhattan's Riverside Park, six ICE agents approached Latino children during baseball practice, demanding information about their origins and parents. The scene—federal agents interrogating American kids playing sports in one of New York's landmark parks—represents the normalization of racial profiling and state harassment that defines authoritarian systems.The targeting of children reveals the quota-driven nature of these operations. With requirements to fill 3,000 detention beds daily, ICE agents are no longer operating with targeted lists but conducting sweeps based on racial profiling. As Olga Lautman documented, they're specifically avoiding white neighborhoods while systematically raiding Latino communities.Meanwhile, the weaponization of federal agencies accelerated with the coordinated campaign between the Jefferson Council and Trump's DOJ that forced the resignation of University of Virginia President James E. Ryan. This marks a dangerous precedent where extremist think tanks work directly with federal law enforcement to target educational leaders who don't conform to Trump's ideological agenda.The parallels to authoritarian playbooks are unmistakable. From Viktor Orbán's systematic capture of Hungarian universities to Putin's use of "extremist" designations to silence opposition, we're witnessing the real-time implementation of tactics that have dismantled democracies elsewhere.Perhaps most telling is the expansion of surveillance and loyalty requirements across federal agencies. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission now demands job applicants explain how they'll advance Trump's executive orders, transforming independent safety oversight into political loyalty tests. This pattern extends across government—from the Parks Department to nuclear regulation—creating a federal workforce selected for political allegiance rather than expertise.The day's revelations connect to form a comprehensive authoritarian strategy: eliminate judicial oversight, expand detention capacity, normalize racial targeting, weaponize federal agencies, and require loyalty oaths from civil servants. These aren't isolated policies—they're coordinated moves to dismantle democratic institutions while building the infrastructure for mass repression.As Lautman noted, immigrants serve as the "test case" for broader authoritarian expansion. Today's elimination of due process for undocumented residents becomes tomorrow's template for targeting naturalized citizens, then critics, then anyone deemed disloyal to the regime. With 25 million naturalized Americans potentially in the crosshairs and denaturalization listed as the DOJ's top priority, the scope of potential targeti