Refugees in Utah, living in the Millcreek neighborhood, or clients of Catholic Community Services living along the Wasatch Front are legal residents, highly vetted, and tax paying members of our communities. They are also living with fear of arbitrary action from the Trump administration. The Supreme Court asked President Trump to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and he is ignoring the court. Hundreds of others were likewise deported to El Salvador despite the order of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. We understand these removals were without pretense of “due process of law.” Thus, our Utah refugees are ill at ease, to say the least.
To underscore the moral gravity of the situation for all of us, let us understand that there is more at stake here than even the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Although the United States withdrew from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in 2002, the crimes defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute are crimes against humanity and they are still on the books. The crimes described there include:
“1. (D) Deportation or forcible transfer of population,” which is defined: “2(D) ‘Deportation or forcible transfer of population’ means forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they were lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law;”
Other crimes against humanity listed are:
We are lucky the United States is not a signatory of the Rome Statute anymore because we would have the awkward situation where our president, secretary of state, attorney general, and multiple other Cabinet officers and advisors would be facing arrest and prosecution for crimes against humanity. This is what we have going on in addition to the outrageous disregard of our Constitution and the Due Process Clause. The Due Process Clause is meant to protect persons against such crimes, but let us recognize that crimes have been committed. These are violations of human rights, crimes against humanity. May our Utah refugees not become victims.
Robert C. Steiner, Salt Lake City
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