Are you a citizen of the United States? This is a question that is getting asked a lot these days. Immigration officials are stopping people all over the country, though admittedly mostly in blue states. Those who were born in the United States and think they are safe from ending up in a place like CECOT, you might want to think again. The United States Supreme Court has taken a page from the U.S. congress and chosen to give up power to the executive. By limiting the power of lower courts to issue injunctions that apply nationwide they have significantly limited the protections offered by courts. The Sixth Amendment to the constitution guarantees the right to an attorney even if you can’t afford one. The Fourteenth Amendment applied the same protection to the states. The ruling in this case means people will need to secure attorneys themselves instead of being able to be covered by blanket orders. This will likely cause a mad scramble to secure attorney services by some and likely will prevent some from getting representation at all.
The Trump Administration seems determined to strip away all the constitutional protections people have one by one. If they can’t eliminate a particular protection, they simply make it so hard to avail yourself of that protection that it becomes meaningless. At this point the freedom of everyone is threatened.
Republicans in the house and senate have shown some reluctance. They appear silenced by fear of a social media post that would target them. They know political violence is becoming more and more common. They don’t want their own supporters to come after them or their families. The recent murders of Melissa and Mark Hortman are just the latest example of how far some people are willing to go. The President seems all to happy to point out targets on social media to these unhinged individuals. Best case scenario is they go broke paying for private security to keep them and their families safe. Some simply chose not to run for another term allowing even more extreme individuals to run in their place.
The U.S. Supreme Court has long been questionable in its willingness to allow the President unchecked power. They actually ruled against the president on several occasions; however, they have certainly shown a willingness to abandon the people to their fate. The signaling of cases coming to the court on the issue of birthright citizenship has many deeply concerned. If the court decides birthright citizenship is no longer the law of the land, that means it doesn’t matter if you are born here. It opens the door to the government having the power to decide who is a citizen and who isn’t. If you can’t picture what that would be like I suggest you watch the movie Starship Troopers.
If the government gets to decide who is a citizen and who isn’t then what is to stop them from declaring anyone who voices an opinion they don’t agree with a non-citizen. We have already had it established that those people can be legally thrown onto planes and shipped to places like CECOT.
Freedom Is Earned
As Americans we often take our liberties for granted. We watch the news and see terrible things happening and think that can’t happen to me. We all need to remember that freedom isn’t free. We have to be willing to put in the work to keep those liberties we enjoy. There are always those who are happy to take away those liberties and they have been playing the long game.
We the people have power and we must not abdicate that power. Freedom isn’t easy. If it was everyone would have it.
Ready to do your part, but don’t know where to start?
- Visit Indivisible.org to find groups near you and resources how to start your own
- Visit Nokings.org for more resources and groups near you
- Start making signs and be ready to go join in protests in your area
- Contact your congressional representatives and make your voice heard find yours here.
- Stay informed without limiting yourself to a particular bias. Read more about that in my blog No News Is Good News? Right?