You would think if we kept making organizations the biggest dicks of the week, we’d eventually run out of dicks. Somehow, we think we’ll be fine.
This past week, when Prachi and I were beginning conversations about who to make our dick of the week for our most recent podcast episode, we were both unable to think of anything more horrifying than the news reports of sweeping raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But we were reluctant to feature ICE agents as our dicks of the week—they aren’t necessarily the guys making the policies. But, luckily for us (just kidding) and unluckily for everyone else, the Department of Homeland Security, at the guidance of the Trump Administration, released a set of new rules intended to enormously increase the number of people eligible for deportation. We had ourselves a dick! And also a national crisis.
In this episode of Big Time Dicks, Prachi and I discuss the new rules, which expand the definition of “criminal alien,” and call for the training of thousands of new ICE agents and detention centers, as well as the history of our thoroughly racist immigration system. (In 1965, Democrats successfully reformed our immigration system to get rid of our hemispheric quotas which, for example, only allowed 100 people from India into the country every year, but their intentions weren’t actually that pure.)
We also speak with Thanu Yakupitiyage of the New York Immigration Coalition, about what rights immigrants have if an ICE agent shows up at your door (You have the right to refuse entry; ask for a lawyer; don’t sign anything!). The NYIC also has “Know Your Rights” materials at NYIC.org in English and Spanish and a text service list—for English, text NYIC to 864237; for Spanish, text VOCES to 864237.
Want to tell us about a Big Time Dick in your life? Send us a voice note to BigTimeDicks@jezebel.com. Also, please rate and subscribe to the podcast, and recommend it to your friends, to make sure other’s are able to get their weekly dose of dick. If you need an antidote to this extremely dark (but explained in a fun, relatable way) subject matter, check out our sister pop culture podcast DirtCast.
The podcast is produced by Levi Sharpe with editorial oversight from Deputy Editor Kate Dries. Our Executive Director of Audio is Mandana Mofidi.