For those with further interest in Rheinmetall, which manufactured many of the small arms and treaded vehicles used by the Third Reich, and whose stock price has jumped by some 750% since the beginning of the war, here is a piece in the NYT from yesterday:

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/b...

This was my first on-air interview about my work and I made a few mistakes I want to correct for the record: MX sent 10,000 troops to the border, not 2K. The military base outside of El Paso is obvs Fr. Bliss, not Ft. Bragg. And the NMD activist is Bryce Peterson, not Bryce Bryson.

They are certainly from Ft. Cavazos in Texas, however, and belong to either the 89th Military Police Brigade, the 720th Military Police Battalion or the 401st Military Police Company.

The immigration system in the US is deeply troubled from any number of perspectives, but most of all it is very complicated. What happened to Project Comunidad is happening across the country, and is the direct consequence of interventions by people who know nothing about how it actually works.

However, this is also part of a federal system which is just as much in jeopardy as the rest of the thin net of social services that Trump is intent on destroying. If Project Comunidad has to shutter its doors, the effects on migrants would be harsh, but devastating for the local population.

Orgs like this serve a vital function in the rural US. Over a quarter of Deming's residents live in poverty, Project Comunidad hands out hundreds of food boxes every month. It can still do this because of the donations it receives from Road Runner, NM's food bank.

Workers told me that Border Patrol regularly harasses people outside of its offices, and recently detained a legal resident for 2 hours for simply being outside and looking "foreign." The group has shuttered its shelter, which it can no longer run without FEMA assistance.

However, those operations are no longer possible, as all federal funding for shelters like these has been stopped. Project Comunidad was awarded nearly 2 million in FEMA grants last year. It hasn't received any of it, the last payout took place in September.

Project Comunidad also ran a migrant shelter which hosted thousands over the years. Shelters like these are a vital part of the immigration system, they host migrants and asylees after they cross the border or are released from detention.

Project Comunidad runs a food pantry that serves everyone in Deming, whether they are migrants or locals. These are the shelves in the room that usually holds staples like rice and beans, the pantry is essentially out of food and won't receive a delivery for another week.

There are several orgs that are active here, Somos Un Pueblo Unido and the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center had a big presence at the Roundhouse and publicize events through their channels.

But the mood at the Roundhouse today was cheerful, loud, defiant. Today's event was one of hundreds around the country this week.