History Repeats (sort of)

“So, Greg Bovino, the most generously compensated Hobbit in government since Linda Hunt left NCIS, is being escorted back to California under the plain vanilla soothing euphemism of a ‘normal transition.’ Turns out that ignoring fatal shootings and child abuse, all while treating the Constitution like a suggestion box, isn’t disqualifying so much as… “mildly inconvenient.”

His move out of Minnesota comes after two fatal shootings, a public‑relations crater, and a weekend where his claim that an ICU nurse planned to “massacre” agents collapsed under witness accounts and unassailable video evidence. Under his phantom control, ICE became a street gang empowered by a complete lack of conscience and concern at the top. One is almost surprised that Kristi Noem didn’t volunteer to pick up the homicidal slack on her weekends off. CNN’s sources called Bovino’s exit a “mutual decision,” which in Washington is code for: “Everyone agreed he should leave, especially the people who actually make decisions.”  Supposedly Administration officials were allegedly “deeply frustrated” with his handling of the Pretti shooting and the messaging meltdown that followed.

While the Minnesota violence had continued for weeks, and the death of Renee Good had been all but swept under the asphalt, Bovino’s weekend assertion that Alex Pretti intended to “massacre” agents — offered without evidence — became the accelerant on an already raging fire. Witnesses and video clearly contradicted him, and suddenly the administration’s “face of the operation” became the “please just shut up” guy.

News outlets, based on such actual information as is reasonably accurate, report that he’s headed back to his old post in California’s El Centro sector — the bureaucratic equivalent of “Go to your room, young man and think about what you’ve done.”  There has been speculation regarding the possibility of retirement, though DHS publicly denied he’d been relieved.

This current debacle and overreach is all new to those who forget their High School history class, but something similar happened 93 years ago in the nation’s capital. And you know I’m gonna tell you about it because there are sad similarities

    Back in 1932, Washington, D.C. played host to the Bonus Army — a ragtag force of World War I veterans who made the tactical error of believing that the government might honor a promise. WWI veterans' bonuses were initially enacted into law on May 19, 1924, (“roaring 20s” economy) through the World War Adjusted Compensation Act (or Bonus Act). This act promised compensation for lost wages, but payments were structured as certificates not payable until 1945. 

    However, the stock market crash and subsequent Depression left many WWI vets jobless and without the means to feed themselves or their families.  The 1932 Bonus March was a non-violent protest by roughly 20,000 to 45,000 WWI veterans, known as the "Bonus Expeditionary Force," who camped in Washington, D.C., to demand early payment of bonuses promised for their service.

        The group, consisting of men, women and children, camped in tents and shanties (called by the press “Hoovervilles” after then President Herbert Hoover) on the Anacostia flats. At first, Hoover, a fiscal conservative, acknowledged the reality, that they were largely honest, struggling veterans. While opposing their demand for early bonus payments due to budget concerns, he allowed them to assemble and even ordered the military to provide tents, cots, and rations.  As the camp grew to tens of thousands and remained after Congress rejected their bill, Hoover became irritated, viewing them as a chaotic, lawless element that needed to leave Washington. It is noteworthy that there were no contemporary reports of violence on the part of the veterans. Until…

         On July 28, 1932) Capitol police attempted to          remove the veterans and used force. After a violent confrontation between police and veterans left two veterans dead, Hoover, ever the humanitarian, responded to the sight of starving veterans and their families by calling in the U.S. Army — because, apparently, nothing says “thank you for your service” like cavalry charges and tear gas.

        Enter Army Chief of Staff, General Douglas MacArthur, a man who never met a situation he couldn’t escalate. He rolled into Anacostia Flats with tanks, infantry, and even some cavalry, and the kind of self‑importance that requires its own railcar (This ego would later get him removed from command during the Korean war). His mission: remove the veterans. His method: remove the veterans and their encampments and any lingering public sympathy Hoover might have had left. The result was a national spectacle in which decorated soldiers were gassed, beaten, and burned out of makeshift shelters, many of them, while wearing their old uniforms. It was the only time in American history when the Army attacked its own veterans and then tried to spin it as “maintaining order.” Sound familiar? 

        Hoover insisted it was all necessary. MacArthur insisted it was all glorious. Major Dwight Eisenhower, who was there under MacArthur’s command, later reflected on how he had hated the event.  The American public insisted Hoover pack his things. And by that November, they made that insistence official. (Coda: Enter FDR, who treated those that were left humanely, authorizing food, shelter and CCC jobs.)

      There are too many similarities to overlook between ICE bullies’ actions in 2025 and the Army’s in 1932. In both cases the rights of citizens were and have been ignored and any violence in response is reaction to the initial violent acts of government agents. 

These brutal actions in the current free for all are frequently “justified” by many, from Donald Trump to the dumbest MAGA marginally literate nose picker, by claims that undocumented immigrants (and many of them really mean any immigrant at all), are rapists, murderers, drug dealers, etc. They imply that eliminating these folks would greatly reduce the incidence of such heinous crimes. 

Sadly, you’ll never hear Trump, Noem or any red hatted simpleton ever admit the truth of the matter. In Trump’s case, it’s simply his inveterate lying to people dumb enough to believe him. In many more, it’s simply refusing to consider data which doesn’t fit their bias. So, you ask …what is the data? Read on, children.

Those claims aren’t supported by any credible data. Federal and state statistics consistently show that undocumented immigrants are much less likely to commit violent or sexual crimes than native‑born Americans. Texas — the only state that tracks immigration status at arrest and conviction — finds lower rates for rape, child molestation, and violent offenses among undocumented immigrants. The stereotype isn’t based on evidence; it’s based on isolated anecdotes and political rhetoric.”

The numbers: What the Data Actually Shows

1. Incarceration Rates: Immigrants vs. Native‑Born: Multiple years of analysis using U.S. Census and American Community Survey data show:

Native‑born Americans have the highest incarceration rate:            1,221 per 100,000 natives (2023).

Undocumented immigrants have a much lower incarceration rate:613 per 100,000 undocumented immigrants. Conclusion: Undocumented immigrants are about half as likely to be incarcerated as native‑born Americans.

2. Sexual Offenses: Actual Conviction Numbers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) tracks convictions among individuals apprehended at the border who already had criminal histories. Sexual offense convictions among undocumented immigrants apprehended by CBP in recent years are very low relative to total apprehensions:

For FY2025 (through June): 89 sexual offense convictions nationwide.  FY2024: 284    FY2023: 365   FY2022: 488

These numbers represent convictions among people already apprehended, not the entire undocumented population—and still remain extremely small. Conclusion: There is no statistical basis for the claim that undocumented immigrants disproportionately commit rape or child molestation.

3. Violent Crime Convictions

For FY2025 (through June): 469 violent crime convictions among undocumented immigrants apprehended by federal authorities. This includes assault, domestic violence, and other violent offenses. Again, this is a tiny fraction of the millions of undocumented people living in the U.S.

4. Broader Criminality Research

Independent criminological studies consistently find: Immigrants (legal and undocumented) are less likely to be arrested, convicted, or incarcerated than native‑born Americans. Immigrants do not increase crime rates in communities and often correlate with lower crime rates.

Bottom Line: The claim that undocumented immigrants are disproportionately “rapists and child molesters” is demonstrably false when compared to actual federal data. Every major dataset—CBP, ICE, FBI-linked analyses, and independent research—shows lower criminality, including sexual offenses, among undocumented immigrants relative to native‑born Americans.

So, why does the myth (because that’s what it is) persist? There are a few reasons, none of them based on reality. First: anecdotes overshadow statistics. A single horrific case gets amplified far more than millions of peaceful lives. Sadly, racial bias plays a part. Also, political rhetoric often frames immigration through the lens of crime so it becomes a partisan issue. And yet ICE, enabled by Trump, is treating people, whose status they don’t even know or haven’t even tried to determine, and whose proof of citizenship they ignore, with total disregard for legal rights, Constitutional rights and basic human decency. It is an American tragedy.