President Donald Trump, in a recent interview, did not provide a clear answer when asked if he would uphold the U.S. Constitution while ordering mass deportations.
Speaking to Kristen Welker at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump consistently deferred to his lawyers when questioned about due process rights for immigrants.
What Happened: During the NBC interview, when Welker asked Trump if he agreed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that everyone in the U.S. has the right to due process, Trump said, "I don't know. I'm not a lawyer."
He highlighted the logistical challenge of organizing trials for millions of immigrants, saying, "We'd have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials." He further added, "I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it."
To facilitate deportations, the Trump administration has relied on a seldom-enforced 1798 law called the Alien Enemies Act, which has provisions to bypass standard immigration procedures and expedite deportations, especially of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
The Supreme Court has stepped in twice to block these efforts, ruling that immigrants are entitled to fundamental due process protections.
Why It Matters: The Fifth Amendment guarantees due process to "no person," regardless of citizenship status. In January, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration for implementing the Alien Enemies Act.
Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project and lead counsel, said: "The Trump administration wants to use this illegal policy to fuel its mass deportation agenda and rip communities apart. Expanding expedited removal would give Trump a cheat code to circumvent due process and the Constitution, and we are again here to fight it."
"People living in communities all across the United States are at risk of being separated from their families and expelled from the country with no legal recourse. This is an attack on communities, our Constitution, and fundamental American values," he added.
Trump’s comments come on the heels of a new report that says his deportation policies could worsen Social Security's current funding shortfall by around 11%.
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