There are many problems created by President Trump’s attempt to gain the authority to detain and deport persons without regard for due process or related constitutionally protected rights. Among them is the loss or surrender of all related constitutional guarantees before and after deportation.
There will be no release or other remedy to be sought from a foreign court, and no legal jurisdiction or authority of a U.S. court to order and compel the return of such deportees (even if it is learned that “mistakes were made,” or “they accidentally deported the wrong person”).
This is, of course, in addition to the denial of other rights available to incarcerated persons in domestic prisons and jails. These dire consequences should matter to all of us.
Unless we all missed it, there has not been any evidentiary or deliberative process in Congress or in the courts with documentation or other proof offered by which the public may assess whether any of these extreme measures are legal and justified exercises of authority delegated by the people.
Thank goodness for the advocates, the lawyers and the judges who work every day to try to hold on to our constitutional system of shared authority and rights. But where are our Utah senators and representatives? They are either all in and complicit with the wrongful acts being perpetrated upon us, or paralyzed by the fear of retaliation and the prospect of losing their next election. Neither option is acceptable or responsive to their oaths of office.
Let’s reclaim our democracy and our country while we still are able.
Stephen F. Hutchinson, Holladay
