Taylor Ragg has ghosted himself and quickly set all of his social media accounts to private. This is what people do when their name goes live in a controversial story, and Ragg is central to just such a story.

The Transylvania University student is accused of encouraging his social media network to report a fellow student and campus activist who has been open about her undocumented status.

“Everyone go report this illegal at my school bragging about breaking the law,” he reportedly said in a Tweet screenshotted by the website Splinter.

I know. Dick move. Welcome to Trump America.

That student, Paola Garcia, came to the United States at age 2 and has no experience living anywhere else. About 800,000 individuals with similar stories have been protected since a 2012 Obama administration program called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was established.

Now, students like Garcia are exposed and vulnerable because, like many Obama-era policies, DACA is threatened with elimination by one Donald J. Trump.

Ragg, is apparently a Trump enthusiast who supports reversing DACA, and he appears all too eager for you to know it. Proof?

Behold, a picture of Ragg published by Raw Story shows him wearing Donald Trump’s trademark red “Make America Great Again” hat.

Last March Ragg was quoted in his student newspaper saying he wants Trump to focus on “implementation of stronger border security, including the deportation of illegal aliens and more stringent vetting for those arriving from certain countries that are deemed high-risk.”

DACA doesn’t cover anyone considered high risk. In fact, you damn near need to be a nun or priest to qualify – and pay nearly $500.

After Ragg allegedly posted her story in a white supremacist Facebook group, Garcia says she received a stream of racist messages.

One said “Hope you enjoyed your visit. Back to them dirt floors of your homeland, stinky ass.”

The deportation advocates like Ragg are either ignorant or cold about the inhumane consequences of carelessly status-shaming immigrants.

For example, it’s common for undocumented women to have abusive partners use their immigration status to control them and keep them in abusive relationships.

A study from the University of Illinois revealed 70 percent of undocumented immigrants who victims of crime are less likely to contact police officers. 44 percent fear officers will use the engagement as an opportunity to inquire about their immigration status.

Social service nonprofits Minnesota are trained to spot ways abusers use to hold power over immigrant women. That list includes emotional, economic, and sexual exploitation, but the most heartbreaking is “threatening to remove her children from the United States.”

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services says it “helps protect victims” “by providing immigration relief,” but how trusting can anyone be in Trump-world?

The fear of losing family members at any moment causes unimaginable trauma for children and communities.

You’d have to be a dick to ignore that. If your parents taught you to think that way, they’re dicks too. In fact, you come from a family of dicks.

 

 

Chris Stewart is the Chief Executive Officer of Education Post, a media project of the Results in Education Foundation. He is a lifelong activist and 20-year supporter of nonprofit and education-related causes. Stewart has served as the director of outreach and external affairs for Education Post, the executive director of the African American Leadership Forum (AALF), and an elected member of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education.

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