Yesterday morning, I woke to news of Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish graduate student, being snatched off the streets in in Somerville, Massachusetts. Her crime? Voicing her opinion. It was reminiscent of something you’d expect to see during the dark days of the Soviet Union. The Trump administration’s assault against immigrants has taken an ugly turn. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been the “front man” in these expulsions. He’s tried defending these actions. But, Marco is wrong.
Illegal Arrests
Over the last several weeks, we have seen the Administration targeting university students, and legal permanent residents (AKA Green Card Holders) who have voiced an opinion in support of Palestinians. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken the lead in stating that speech in support of Palestinians is speech in support of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. Marco is wrong.
Constitutional Issues
First Amendment protections apply to everyone. Citizens, residents, and visitors. This includes students. Our constitution allows people to make statements, sometimes in disagreement with the current administration, without fear of retribution. Rubio, and this administration, have used clauses in immigration law to suppress this right of people here on student visas.
Green card holders have been denied re-entry into the US when immigration agents found social media posts on their phones in which the resident had made statements in support of the Palestinian people.
More troubling is the violation of due process that we’ve seen in the deportation of alleged Tren de Aragua members. Literally THOUSANDS of people have been sent to prisons in El Salvador on the mere suspicion of being members of that gang.
Due process is guaranteed via the Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. But just as they do with the bible, conservatives like to cherry-pick which part of the constitution they will uphold and which parts they will ignore.
In the suppression of constitutional rights, Marco is wrong.
Legal Challenges Underway
There are legal challengers underway against the actions of Rubio and the Trump administration. I expect many more in the months to come.
- Columbia Student Hunted by ICE Sues to Prevent Deportation
- Brown University Professor Is Deported Despite a Judge’s Order
- US appeals court upholds block on Trump deportation of some Venezuelans
In most of these cases, judges have rules against the Trump administration. However, in some of these cases, the administration has appealed or simply ignored the judicial orders.
This is troublesome. The separation of powers enshrined in our constitution creates three equal branches of government. The founding fathers never intended for the Administration to have power that supersedes judicial review. Yet, this is exactly what the Trump administration has argued in court.
The Final Decision
None of these cases have yet to reach the Supreme Court. It will be interesting to see what will happen if the Court rules against the administration. In a worst-case scenario, the administration continues to ignore the judicial system and we will be in the midst of a true constitutional crisis.
Most constitutional scholars expect the administration’s lawyers to lose, because they, and Marco Rubio are wrong.