Amtrak Passenger Questioned About Citizenship

 So here we are. 2025. And a federal judge is being grilled like a goddamn criminal while stepping off a passenger train in Havre, Montana, because two dudes in desert camo with “ICE” stitched on their chests decided to play “Show Me Your Papers”—on U.S. soil, with no probable cause, and no legal warrant. You know, just your casual, everyday paramilitary checkpoint at a train stop in America. Totally normal.

Larry Baer, an attorney and tribal court judge—mind you, a judge—goes to stretch his legs during a routine Amtrak stop and boom: he’s face-to-face with the soft boot of authoritarianism. No explanation. No legal justification. Just a demand for citizenship confirmation, verbal only if you look like him. Because, let’s be honest, we all know damn well if Baer had a deeper tan or a Spanish accent, they’d be rifling through his bags, pressing him against the train, and asking why his great-great-grandma didn’t speak English.

And these ICE goons weren’t subtle either—desert camo. Not police blues. Not federal polos. Freakin’ combat uniforms. Like they’re about to raid a cartel compound and not, you know, harass a bunch of elderly train passengers on their way through the Hi-Line.

And get this: ICE denies it was them. They pass the buck to Customs and Border Protection. CBP’s response? “We’re checking into it.” What the hell does that even mean? You’re the guys with the guns on the train! Don’t you know what your agents are doing? Or are you just hoping the public forgets by the time you finish your internal game of hot potato?

Now let’s zoom out, because this ain’t an isolated incident. Two Latina U.S. citizens were detained in a Havre gas station for speaking Spanish. In America. The so-called land of the free, where the only language that’s constitutionally protected is the one you’re speaking when a government agent decides to ruin your life.

And let’s not forget that in 2020, CBP had to settle with those women after illegally detaining them, because that’s what civil rights violations get you these days—a quiet payout and a gag order. Oh, and in 2006? Same damn thing. Unlawful detentions, upheld by the Ninth Circuit, because CBP was out here treating Latinos like suspects for existing in public.

But here’s the kicker: Baer wasn’t asked for ID. No documents. Just a question and a “move along.” Why? Because he’s white. And even he said it. If his skin were a shade darker, he probably wouldn’t be telling this story from the comfort of his home. He’d be calling his lawyer from a holding cell in Shelby.

And yet—and yet—the bootlicking apologists will say this is just “law enforcement doing their job.” Really? Since when did “the job” involve random train sweeps with no warrants and no probable cause, where agents decide who looks American enough to be left alone? You wanna know who else did that? Totalitarian regimes. Authoritarian states. Fascist governments who slowly normalized violations of civil liberties until the people accepted it like weather.

This is how it starts. Not with jackboots stomping into town square, but with polite-sounding press releases and vague jurisdictional shrugs while civil rights quietly bleed out in public.

And let me tell you something: if you’re still saying “this isn’t fascism,” you need to shut up, put the goddamn glasses on, and take a look around. Our trains are being raided. Our convenience stores are under surveillance. Our rights are conditional—dependent on your skin tone, your accent, and whether your name sounds too “foreign” to the guy with the badge.

And all of it, every inch of this creeping fascism, is wrapped up in bureaucratic cowardice and public indifference.

You either speak up now, or don’t act surprised when they don’t stop at questions next time. Because the train is moving. And it ain’t heading toward freedom.

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