If you haven’t been watching the news lately, well I can’t say I blame you. It has been quite depressing unless you are someone who delights in the pain and suffering of others.

The 5th Amendment

If you are anything like me government class was a long time ago and you may not have been paying a great deal of attention at the time. Sadly now we definitely need to reacquaint ourselves with this concept.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

To be completely clear the Fifth Amendment applies equally to ALL PEOPLE who are physically present in the United States. It does not limit it’s protection to only American citizens.

Kilmar Abrego Carcia

Kilmar Abrego Garcia should have been protected by this amendment. Instead he was rounded up by ICE dragged onto a plane and flown to the notorious CECOT the largest Salvadoran prison. There was no arraignment hearing, no option of bail, no attempt in any way to determine if this individual had committed any crime. The Trump Administration simply accused him of being a member of SM-13 and in their minds that was cause to not only forcibly remove him from the U.S. borders but to deposit him into prison, potentially for the remainder of his life. To make matters worse they finally admitted he was sent due to an “error” and then threw up their hands claiming there was nothing they could do.

In this case it seems clear the Fifth amendment was violated now lets look at the Eighth amendment which prohibits cruel AND unusual punishment. Normally a punishment must fit both of those criteria to be a violation. This means a punishment could potentially be cruel and be completely acceptable if it isn’t unusual. Shipping Mr. Garcia off to a supermax prison for life after committing no crime seems both cruel and unusual as this has not been common practice. It is worth noting President Trump has begun to muse about the possibility of shipping off American citizens who were convicted of crimes as well.

The Burning Civil Rights

So we have both the Fifth and Eighth amendments tossed to the side by the Trump Administration. What else is next? Could it be the Sixth Amendment which protects the rights of the accused by guaranteeing the accused both a speedy and public trial. The accused is given the opportunity to compel witnesses to give testimony. It also provides the accused the right to have counsel for their defense. Mr. Garcia wasn’t offered a trial at all. There was no opportunity to secure counsel. Between those two I guess we are tossing out the Sixth Amendment as well.

Rümeysa Öztürk

Rümeysa Öztürk a Turkish student attending Tufts University was grabbed up by agents who were wearing masks and plain clothes right off the street in broad daylight. Her Visa had been revoked by the U. S. State Department due to her being an activist speaking out against the United States. Unlike Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Rümeysa was given due process and allowed a hearing. The average American should be chilled to the bone to hear that people are being grabbed up for simply exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. It is no small amount of irony that individuals like President Trump who claim to revere free speech are now taking action against those who exercise it.

As we have seen so far just in this short rant we have a president who seems to have no problem tossing out the First, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments. All the while people in red hats cheer as they waive flags with Trump’s visage emblazoned over the American Flag while wearing pistols on their hips, assault rifles on their backs and wearing body armor on their chests. I can’t help but wonder if they have ever considered if he will eventually attempt to toss out the Second Amendment as well. While I know some have and now regret giving him their support many choose to believe it will never happen.

The Problem

People all over the country are showing their rage at the actions of the administration by protesting in the streets. The 24/7 news media airs footage of protests and reporters ask why Mr. Garcia has not been returned despite an order from the United States Supreme Court. In our system of government we rely on each branch of government to stay in their lane and work together. Congress can make all the laws it wants and it is the duty of the executive branch to enforce those laws. The court can issue rulings declaring laws unconstitutional and issue orders to correct injustices. The executive has the power to choose not to enforce laws and rulings.

This is the system of checks and balances. It has worked fairly well for over two centuries. The entire system depends on the three branches working together and when the executive who essentially is the arm that makes things happen decides it doesn’t need the other two branches the system breaks.

The denying of due process to migrants isn’t new with President Trump. It is an unfortunate reality that administrations routinely cut corners to remove people from the country with little or no due process. The system simply isn’t set up to handle the sheer volume of cases it would take to give everyone a full and complete hearing. So what is the difference here? The difference, as I see it, is President Trump’s near desperate need for attention. While most administrations go through the routine and make no real noise about it.

The Need For Attention

President Trump not only campaigned to an extreme on this issue, but he has deliberately made a show of it. The obvious cruelty on display in orchestrated photo opportunity moments and videos from crews sent out with immigration officials all to create content intended to show how strong the presidents leadership is brings the issue, which the public normally doesn’t think about, into focus. In February Rolling Stone released an article talking about a $200 million dollar ad campaign in which Kristi Noem thanks President Trump for his actions on immigration. In the article Noem indicated the idea to thank Trump came from none other than Donald Trump himself. You can read the article for yourself here.

President Trump seems so determined to appear strong and is so determined to act like the dictators he seems to truly admire. Whether you call him a villain or a hero both tend to create their own worst enemies.