They come for "them" before they come for "us"

The videos depicting the DRO operations should concern us all

I’m sure you have all seen this video:

Rumeysa Ozturk, a foreign national, was detained on March 25th outside Boston. She was walking down the street.

The video—most likely captured by a surveillance camera—shows plain-clothes, masked individuals detaining her and escorting her into an unmarked vehicle. No announcement. No identification. No visible badges until after she was in custody.

No formal explanation. No public warrant. No obvious intervention. Just confusion. Just another person removed from public space in a major American city—without context or clarity.

Then came the justification: The Secretary of State announcing the revocation of hundreds of visas, characterizing these individuals as disruptive. ICE was directed to carry out expedited enforcement actions.

For many, the response was disbelief: “How can this happen here?”

But the better question is: Why wouldn’t it?

History Doesn’t Announce Itself

It doesn’t arrive with fanfare or declarations. It moves—quietly—through a series of doors. You cross one. Then another. Each one is harder to notice. Each one is easier to justify.

If the Electoral College Didn’t Exist…

In 2016, Hillary Clinton received nearly three million more votes than Donald Trump.

But Trump became President.

Because in America, we don’t select Presidents by majority rule. We use the Electoral College—a system established in 1789 to balance political power between populous and less-populous states. A compromise designed, in part, to protect slaveholding regions.

And it worked as intended.

The result?

• Lifetime judicial appointments by a candidate who lost the popular vote

• Federal family separation policies

• Executive orders limiting entry based on religion or nationality

• Political messaging that flirted with extremism

• International instability triggered by informal diplomacy

• A domestic insurrection aimed at disrupting a peaceful transfer of power

And no President Hillary Clinton. Instead, Trump becomes a central force in modern American politics. A voice that might have faded became a platform that redefined the nation.

If the Legal System Had Folded…

In 2020, a record-breaking number of Americans voted. The outcome was clear: Donald Trump lost.

He said otherwise.

But the courts—including judges he appointed—dismissed his claims.
Recounts confirmed the results. Even the Supreme Court declined to intervene. And then-Attorney General Bill Barr publicly rejected claims of widespread fraud.

The system held—but only because certain individuals chose not to compromise.

But what if one of them had?

What if a state official reversed certified results?
What if one judge interpreted election law differently?
What if local clerks fabricated discrepancies?

Then the election could have been overturned—not by votes, but by discretion.

If the Vice President Had Chosen Otherwise…

On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Capitol was breached. The Vice President was moved to a secure location. The calls for violence were real.

President Trump did not immediately act to stop the breach. But Vice President Pence did not yield. He certified the results. He followed the Constitution, even under threat.

If he had sent the results back to the states—even once—the outcome might have been reversed. And the events of that day might be viewed not as an assault on democracy, but a form of protest.

If the Military Had Not Intervened—Quietly

In the final days of the administration, senior military leadership took quiet but decisive steps. General Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, communicated internationally to prevent misinterpretation. He advised military commanders to act only on verified, lawful orders.

The military affirmed its neutrality.

But what if it hadn’t?

What if executive power had extended into domestic enforcement?

The system of civilian control might have eroded. And the use of force might have shifted from protection to suppression.

If the Justice Department Had Acted Sooner…

By late 2022, evidence gathered by the January 6 Committee was overwhelming.
Witnesses. Documents. Public testimony.

Still, the Department of Justice hesitated.

They appointed a Special Counsel, Jack Smith, to re-examine the case.
He did.
And eventually, indictments followed.

But by then, the window had shifted.

Trump had already re-entered public life.
He used legal proceedings as a platform.
He reshaped accountability into narrative.

Had charges been filed earlier, had proceedings moved faster, the political landscape might look very different.

Annuit Cœptis—No More?

History turns on small moments.

Sometimes, not a door—but a chair.

On February 15, 1933, a man attempted to assassinate Franklin Roosevelt.
But the shooter stood on an unstable metal chair. His aim shifted.
He struck Anton Cermak, the Mayor of Chicago, instead.

Cermak died. Roosevelt lived. And history bent.

Had the chair not shifted?
Roosevelt might never have taken office.
The presidency would have passed to John Nance Garner, a fiscal conservative who opposed much of what became the New Deal.

There would have been no Works Progress Administration.
No Social Security.
No sweeping economic intervention.
No New Deal.

In that vacuum—of unemployment, of despair, of instability—other forces could have risen. Populist. Reactionary.

Authoritarian.

Luck, Not Design

We tell ourselves that the system is resilient. That checks and balances are immutable. That we’ve been tested—and passed.

But we didn’t pass.

We were fortunate.

Fortunate that officials held the line.
That oaths were honored.
That norms, barely, endured.

Because none of it was guaranteed.

Every safeguard we trust—it isn’t a wall.

It’s a thread.

The Myth of the Framers

We are taught that the Framers were visionaries. They designed a republic capable of withstanding anything.

But they were human.

They never imagined a future in which the electorate might knowingly hand power to someone who openly disrespects the rule of law.

They didn’t foresee this America.

Because if they had—they would have built something stronger.

Today It’s Them. Tomorrow...

The detention of Rumeysa Ozturk is alarming on two levels.

First, it reflects the dysfunction of our immigration system—something in need of urgent and thoughtful reform.

Second, it challenges our most basic commitment to the constitutional process.

Because even non-citizens, regardless of immigration status, are entitled to:

• Due process

• Access to counsel

• Protection against unlawful detention

• Equal protection under the law

These are not privileges.
They are constitutional principles.
They apply to all persons on U.S. soil.

When those rights are selectively applied or suspended based on perceived loyalty or political speech, we are not in a debate over policy.

We are witnessing the redefinition of citizenship.

Another Door Opens

This is not an isolated incident. It is consistent with how democracies degrade.

Across history:

• In El Salvador, expansive powers were first used to address crime. The public cheered. Then came the suppression of dissent.

• In Chile, extraordinary measures began as a safeguard. They became tools of political control.

• In Germany, early camps were administrative, not lethal. Public perception adjusted. The system expanded. The outcome became unimaginable—until it wasn’t.

The pattern is clear: Small steps. Quiet changes. Each one seems reasonable. Each one more tolerable than the last.

Until the line is gone. And no one knows exactly when they crossed it.

We are not exempt.
We are not immune.
And we are not far.

Rumeysa Ozturk is not just a case. She reflects who we are—and who we are becoming. The question is no longer whether the door has opened.

It’s whether we will walk through it.

If you found this useful, this is just the beginning. The Long Memo exists to decode precisely this kind of real-life event—the how and why the doors unlock as they do.

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