Trump’s Bold Claim: Deportation Without Trial?
Another day, another eyebrow – raising statement from Donald Trump. Just a week after his administration was accused of “willfully disobeying” the constitution, the president now claims he has the right to deport people without a fair trial.
US District Judge James E Boasberg pointed out that the Trump administration ignored direct orders to turn back planes carrying deportees to El Salvador. A case involving a Maryland man deported to El Salvador without a hearing had already drawn international attention.
When a reporter asked Trump if he was satisfied with the deportation rate this week, he replied, “You can’t hold trials for all these people. Look, we’re dealing with some really bad characters – killers, murderers, drug dealers. There are also the mentally ill, those they emptied out from asylums into our country. We need to get them out. And a judge can’t just say, ‘No, you have to have a trial.'” Trump further argued, “If we’re not allowed to do what we should, our country will become very dangerous.”
However, according to the US Constitution, every person, whether a US citizen, on a visa, or in the country illegally, has the right to a fair trial. Historian and propaganda analyst Ian Garner told Metro that Trump’s latest statement about deporting people without a fair trial is creating a “highly authoritarian” America. He said, “What Trump is doing here is leaning towards authoritarianism. It’s like a judicial system that only exists on the surface. Think about the show trials in the 1930s. Trump seems to be creating a world where the law doesn’t matter. In traditional authoritarian countries, the judicial system is just for show.” He added that Trump’s stance creates a strange contradiction, as traditional authoritarianism usually has a strong state and a (corrupted) judicial system. This will likely lead Trump and his supporters to face a tough question: “What’s the point of a government if it can’t ensure basic functions like a fair trial?”
Shortly after taking office again, Trump invoked a 1798 wartime law, claiming there was an “invasion” by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Even though a judge ordered planes carrying deportees to return to the US, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele later announced that the deportees had arrived in his country. The Trump administration has continued to deport alleged criminals without giving them the right to a fair trial, stating that they didn’t violate any orders, as the judge didn’t include the turnaround directive in the written order and the planes had already left the US when the order was issued.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that those facing deportation must be given a chance to fight their removals before being deported.
