All had left authoritarian countries to build new lives in the United States, a place they believed would be different. But they now see ominous patterns repeating and democratic norms eroding — and feel a duty to warn Americans.

“It honestly feels like I just switched rooms on the Titanic,” said Miguel Mendoza, a former political prisoner in Nicaragua who lives in Orlando.

The Washington Post spoke with 12 people from six authoritarian countries — some who fled left-wing regimes and others right-wing ones. They described an unsettling feeling of déjà vu in the initial months of the Trump administration: the attacks on courts and the press; the threats to universities and law firms; the hollowing out of agencies; the scapegoating and mass deportation of immigrants; the marginalizing of transgender people.

They fled authoritarian countries. Here they’re experiencing déjà vu.

Immigrants from six nations where democracy was eroded say they see the same patterns emerging during the Trump administration — and want to warn Americans.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/they-fled-authoritarian-countries-here-they-re-experiencing-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu/ar-AA1CJw4n