Some warnings are subtle.
This wasn’t one of them.
Walking into the Oval Office the president of El Salvador, Donald Trump reportedly made a statement so blunt, so authoritarian in tone, that it didn’t just cross a line—it erased it:
“Homegrown are next.”
Let that settle in.
He wasn’t talking about undocumented immigrants.
He wasn’t talking about green card holders or asylum seekers.
He was talking about U.S.-born citizens.
People like me. People like you.
The comment came during a discussion about deportations. According to those briefed on the exchange, Trump made it clear: the line that once protected American citizens—birthright, passports, the Constitution itself—is now subject to revision.
And make no mistake, this isn’t bluster. It’s policy in formation.
We’ve already seen a legal permanent resident—Kilmar Abrego Garcia—ripped from his home and sent to a Salvadoran prison despite a court order barring deportation. The Supreme Court called it illegal. The administration ignored the Court.
Now Trump’s saying the quiet part out loud.
“Homegrown are next.”
This isn’t policy. It’s a purge.
It’s not about law and order. It’s about who belongs—and who can be stripped of that belonging.
The legal machinery is already being tested—quietly, strategically. Resurrecting ancient laws like the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which gives the president sweeping power to detain or deport “aliens” deemed dangerous. Combine that with facial recognition at airports, citizenship documentation crackdowns, and the weaponization of federal databases, and you’ve got the makings of a domestic deportation pipeline.
And what’s more American than weaponizing bureaucracy?
The playbook is simple: redefine who counts as a threat. Expand the definition of “alien.”
Ignore the courts.
Push the envelope.
Then dare the public to push back.
This isn’t just an immigration issue. This is about citizenship itself becoming conditional—based on political loyalty, skin color, surname, birthplace of your grandparents, or whether you look like the “real” America someone’s trying to take back.
The message is chilling and clear:
You were born here. You pay taxes. You vote. You speak English. You did everything “right.”
And it still might not be enough.
Because in Trump’s America, being homegrown doesn’t mean you’re safe.
It just means you’re next.