A Disturbing Government Web Page on Immigration

The phrase “They walk among us” emerges eerily in green letters on a dark screen. This is not a trailer for a sci-fi movie. It is found on a White House web page claiming a supposed secret involving immigrants, not extraterrestrials.

The website describes immigrants as if they are foreign invaders, noting, “They’ve shopped in the same stores, attended the same classes as our children, and lived seemingly normal human existences.” This portrays immigrants using language that distorts the reality of peaceful coexistence.

Such communication belongs to a category of actions associated with then-President Trump, which are both threatening and immature. Ernesto Verdeja, a genocide-prevention expert at the University of Notre Dame, calls it “grotesque and terrifying and juvenile.” These expressions are straightforward in their harshness, posing challenges for commentary.

The statements change our world, step by absurd step.

Phrases like “They do not belong here” might incite violence against immigrants. However, Benjamin Valentino, a government professor at Dartmouth College, interprets the page differently. He suggests the intent is to promote inaction among citizens, allowing the government to continue its harsh policies against immigrants unnoticed.

Valentino, co-founder of the Early Warning Project, evaluates risks of mass atrocities globally. Although the U.S. does not see anti-immigrant violence at the scale seen in Valentino’s studies, the Trump-era language signals a warning. The dehumanizing terms become indicators of potential risk for targeted violence against a group.

Valentino explains that rather than inciting murder, such language encourages bystander behavior, preventing intervention against governmental actions targeting immigrants.