Unjustified Deportations amid Concerns: Lack of Trial for Imprisoned Immigrants under Trump's Administration
Fired-Up Take:
President Trump's not playing around when it comes to kicking out foreign crime gang members, but things are getting messy. TheSupremes recently put a halt on these deportations, arguing that before sending these dudes to a foreign prison, they gotta have their day in court.
Now, here's where it gets interesting. Most of the deportees aren't going back to their home countries - instead, they're getting locked up in El Salvador's infamous maximum-security prison, CECOT. That's not cool, according to UCLA law professor Ahilan Arulanantham. He says before the government throws someone in the clink, they gotta charge 'em with a crime and prove they did the dirty deed in a jury trial, y'know, the whole Constitutional thing.
Arulanantham has filed an appeal on behalf of a Venezuelan guy, saying it's against the Constitution to send his client to CECOT. That prison's no joke; detainees share crowded cells with no furniture, the lights are always on, and they can't contact lawyers or family. In short, it's a pit of despair.
The Trump administration thinks they can use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to quickly deport foreigners during wartime, but they're also talking about this prison as a form of "punishment" for criminals. That sounds fishy to legal experts. Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of Lawfare, wonders what law lets the Trump administration send people to Salvadoran prisons for long stretches without any allegations of criminal misconduct.
So, is it legal to deport someone to a foreign prison? It's gonna be a heated legal battle, with due process and cruel & unusual punishment at the heart of it. Stay tuned, folks!
- The government's decision to deport foreign crime gang members and imprison them in El Salvador's CECOT prison, without charging them with a crime or providing them a fair trial, constitutes a potential violation of the Constitution, according to UCLA law professor Ahilan Arulanantham.
- The Supreme Court's ruling to halt the deportations of foreign criminals has set a precedent, stating that before sending individuals to a foreign prison, they must have their day in court to argue their case, invoking the 'habeas' corpus principle.
- The use of El Salvador's CECOT prison as a form of punishment for foreign criminals, without proper charges or allegations of criminal misconduct, raises questions about the Trump administration's compliance with general-news and crime-and-justice laws, as legal experts find it dubious.
- Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of Lawfare, is questioning the legal basis that allows the Trump administration to send people to Salvadoran prisons for extended periods without criminal allegations against them.
- The coming legal battle over the constitutionality of deporting foreigners to face imprisonment in foreign prisons without due process or fair trial promises to be a contentious issue in crime and justice politics.
