Trump Says Forget Judges -- As Soon as Aliens Cross Illegally, Send Them Right Back
Once again, President Donald Trump has used Twitter to infuriate his critics and fire up his supporters.
The president used seemingly the only topic covered by the media in the past three weeks — the detention of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S. border — to make his boldest declaration yet about the never-ending problem, proposing immediate deportation of illegal immigrants from the border.
We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country. When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came. Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order. Most children come without parents…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2018
In a tweet on Sunday, Trump said a porous border makes a mockery of the struggles of legal immigrants to enter America.
“Our Immigration policy, laughed at all over the world, is very unfair to all of those people who have gone through the system legally and are waiting on line for years! Immigration must be based on merit — we need people who will help to Make America Great Again!” Trump tweeted.
….Our Immigration policy, laughed at all over the world, is very unfair to all of those people who have gone through the system legally and are waiting on line for years! Immigration must be based on merit – we need people who will help to Make America Great Again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2018
The tweet was immediately met with criticism by those who say the president would be denying illegals their right of due process as guaranteed by the Constitution.
NEVER ignore the Constitution and the RIGHTS it protects. RULE OF LAW &DUE PROCESS MATTER!!!#jonaPOTUShttps://t.co/q2jMI2hOI6
— Jonathan A. Trapani (@JATrapani) June 24, 2018
This is a direct violation of our Constitution and is an impeachable offense #IMPEACHTRUMPNOW
— Jenny Sampson (@JennySampson16) June 24, 2018
But those rights apply to undocumented immigrants already in the country.
As Daniel Fisher of Forbes noted in an article last year about the constitutionality of Trump’s travel ban, there’s an important distinction between the rights of someone trying to enter the country as opposed to those already here.
“They’re subject to immigration law, under which the executive branch has broad authority to determine whether it wants them in the country or not,” Fisher wrote of incoming immigrants. “And until they’ve passed through immigration control, they aren’t technically on U.S. soil.”
Which means, the president would argue that under immigration law, anyone detained at a border crossing can be sent back to Mexico or their native country without requiring due process.
It would be an emotional legal battle if the president pushes for what he proposed in his Sunday morning tweet, and one that would almost certainly be put before the Supreme Court.
Clearly the president is getting tougher in his border policies to try and get some type of immigration reform passed by Congress. That will require the cooperation of Democrats, who thus far seem to enjoy the chaos and the media criticism the situation at the border is causing the White House.
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