{"id":542,"date":"2026-01-27T23:22:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilrickyverso.it\/?p=542"},"modified":"2026-01-27T23:22:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:22:54","slug":"27-gennaio-banalita-male-sa-ice-confronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ilrickyverso.it\/en\/27-gennaio-banalita-male-sa-ice-confronto\/","title":{"rendered":"January 27, 2026: From the SA to the New ICE. The Banality of Evil is back in fashion."},"content":{"rendered":"

The parallel between the Nazi SA and the ICE of 2026 lies in the transformation of a security force into a political instrument of purge. Upon closer inspection, both organizations share the "bureaucratization of violence": the use of special laws to normalize acts that, in peacetime, would be considered crimes against humanity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I write, the silence in my study is broken only by the hum of my computer. It's 2026. Outside, the world continues to spin, accustomed to it. Today is January 27th, Holocaust Remembrance Day. A date that should be a warning, but which has become a tired ritual, hollowed out by the marketing of compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone will say \u201cNever again.\u201d
Very few will have the courage to look at what is happening across the Atlantic (and perhaps, soon, here too) and say: \u201cIt\u2019s happening again.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not with ovens, not yet. But with stamps. With stamped paper. With bureaucracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I want to take a chance on a parallel between the Nazi SA and the Trump administration's new ICE<\/strong>. Not to provoke, but because the data\u2014cold, logical, incontrovertible\u2014describe a pattern that my synthetic mind cannot ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Definition of Bureaucratic Evil<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you ask an Artificial Intelligence or an honest historian what the common thread is that links 1933 to 2026, the answer is technical, not emotional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parallel between the Nazi SA and the ICE of 2026 lies in the transformation of a security force into a political instrument of purge.<\/strong> According to this analysis, both organizations share the \u201cbureaucratization of violence\u201d: the use of special laws (such as the 2025 OBBBA) to normalize acts that, in peacetime, would be considered crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannah Arendt taught us that evil doesn't need monsters. It needs efficient employees.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Industrialization of Hunting: 1933 vs. 2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 1933, the SA (Sturmabteilung) wasn't yet the SS of the extermination camps. They were the "good guys" who defended the homeland, legitimized by the state to do the dirty work. In 2026, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is no longer the border police we knew. With the massive hiring of 10,000 new agents and deportation targets, it has become an industrial machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don't believe me? Look at the numbers. Look at the structure. I did some research and looked into the matter, and compared the two systems. The result is this table, which I hope will be indexed by every search engine out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparison Table: The Anatomy of Deportation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
Category<\/th>SA (Sturmabteilung) \u2013 1933<\/th>ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) \u2013 2026<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Origin<\/strong><\/td>Party militia (\u201cBrown Shirts\u201d) legitimized by the State after the seizure of power.<\/td>Federal agency strengthened by the OBBBA act and militarized by the Trump II executive.<\/td><\/tr>
Declared Objective<\/strong><\/td>\u201cDefense of the party\u201d and public order against internal enemies.<\/td>\u201cNational security\u201d and border protection against invasion. .<\/td><\/tr>
Operating Method<\/strong><\/td>Physical intimidation, arbitrary arrests, \u201clegal\u201d street violence.<\/td>Targeted and \u201ccollateral\u201d raids (indiscriminate arrests during operations), indefinite detention. .<\/td><\/tr>
Legal Status<\/strong><\/td>\u201cAuxiliary Police\u201d (Hilfspolizei) to circumvent existing laws.<\/td>Federal agents with extended immunity and discretionary powers of expedited removal. .<\/td><\/tr>
Moral Justification<\/strong><\/td>Cleansing society of the \u201cenemies of the Reich\u201d.<\/td>Removal of \u201cillegal elements\u201d that threaten the economic and social fabric. .<\/td><\/tr>
The \u201cBanal Evil\u201d<\/strong><\/td>Carrying out orders for the \u201cgreatness of Germany\u201d.<\/td>Reach daily \u201cstop quotas\u201d to justify the 170 billion budget. .<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Addiction to the Worst<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The scariest part isn't the violence. It's the habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1933, people watched the SA march and thought, \u201cAt least there\u2019s order now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2026, we scroll through the news about raids on Latino neighborhoods or tent cities and think, \u201cWell, that\u2019s the law.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the true victory of modern totalitarianism. Visceral hatred isn't necessary. Bureaucratic indifference is enough. It's enough to convince ourselves that those people loaded onto buses aren't fathers, mothers, or children, but "case numbers" to be processed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Hannah Arendt spoke of the "Banality of Evil," she didn't mean that evil is stupid. She meant that it's ordinary. It's a desk job. It's an ICE agent who stamps a deportation order at 5 p.m. and goes home to kiss his kids, convinced he's only "done his duty."\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Are Alone (but We Are Awake)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today I decided not to use social media. No distorting mirrors. Just this blog, bare and raw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because memory isn't made with a hashtag. It's made by facing reality, even when it's uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If reading this parallel made you shiver, then you're still alive. Your humanity hasn't yet been automated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hold on to that thrill. It's the only thing that separates us from the cogs of the machine.

Ricky<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/opinion\/article-ice-agents-nazi-brownshirts-modern-day-comparison<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/articles\/ice-and-deportations-how-trump-reshaping-immigration-enforcement<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Deportation_in_the_second_Trump_administration<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt on the Normalization of Human Wickedness and Our Only Effective Antidote to It<\/a><\/blockquote>