Palmer Raids
a day ago
- #First Red Scare
- #Civil Liberties
- #Immigration History
- The Palmer Raids were a series of government-led raids in 1919-1920 targeting suspected socialists, anarchists, and communists, particularly Italian and Eastern European Jewish immigrants.
- Led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and aided by J. Edgar Hoover, the raids resulted in 6,000 arrests and 556 deportations, but faced opposition from the Department of Labor.
- The raids occurred during the First Red Scare, fueled by fears of communism post-WWI and the Russian Revolution, alongside labor strikes and anarchist bombings.
- Initial raids in November 1919 targeted the Union of Russian Workers, followed by larger-scale operations in January 1920, marked by widespread arrests and civil liberties violations.
- Public and legal backlash grew, with figures like Louis Post and the ACLU challenging the raids' legality, leading to their eventual cessation and Palmer's political decline.
- The Palmer Raids have been compared to later deportation campaigns, including those under the Trump administration, highlighting recurring themes of immigration and civil rights tensions.