Since 1982, the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute has drawn awareness to civil liberties enshrined in the United States Constitution. The non-partisan organization has a libertarian bent.
On July 9, the organization published an essay warning of the dangers that come with billions of additional funding for border and immigration enforcement.
“With over $170 billion allocated through Trump’s megabill, we are witnessing the creation of a vast, permanent enforcement infrastructure aimed at turning the American police state into a prison state,” writes John and Nisha Whitehead.
The pair write that this is not a partisan warning but a constitutional one. They write that the money will be used to funnel money from the U.S. Treasury to companies that build private prisons at a time when the U.S. Department of Justice has pledged to remove citizenship for those viewed as security risks.
“Unfortunately, the government’s definition of “national security threat” is so broad, vague and unconstitutional that it could encompass anyone engaged in peaceful, nonviolent, constitutionally protected activities—including criticism of government policy or the policies of allied governments like Israel,” the Whiteheads write.
The essay also points out that many in the Republican for many years have been opposed to a surveillance state.
Before you go: This story was originally posted in the July 9, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then posted here on July 10. To learn how to support this work, please visit this page elsewhere on this website.
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