The double danger of Trump's proposal to abandon migrants in sanctuary cities



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The Trump administration plans to release migrants detained on the southern border in the streets of so-called sanctuaries. This is not just a manifest abuse of power, but it is an abuse that apparently seeks revenge on the courts for their commitment to upholding fundamental constitutional rights.

As the Washington Post reported on Thursday, the idea was explicitly political. A congressional investigator explained in the mail, "What happened here is that Stephen Miller called people to ICE, told them that if they reduced the funds, you had to make sure that you released people in Pelosi District neighborhoods. "

The use of law enforcement to gain political advantage, for example by deliberately releasing migrants detained in highly democratic areas, undermines the fundamental idea of ​​the rule of law by replacing a commitment to the rule of law. justice through a partisan political imperative. Not only does this undermine the most basic premise of justice, but it also assumes that law enforcement should be accountable to the president, regardless of the law's constraints.

But the proposal to simply send migrants back to so-called sanctuaries around the country is a more pernicious step than simply to support an authoritarian style of abuse of power.

Sanctuary towns, despite their frequent characterization as mere havens for illegal immigrants, are more precisely jurisdictions that refuse to restrict civil liberties simply because ICE wants it.

This distinction is important. Outside the sanctuary cities, ICE may, without a warrant, request that persons be detained and placed or delivered to the agency. This process bypasses constitutionally protected rights such as respect for the law and prohibition of detention without cause by the government. Moreover, the fear that the collaboration with ICE is being misused and violating civil liberties is not an abstract fear, but a reality that has even led to the illegal detention of citizens.

The fact that the Trump administration actively suggests not only to undermine the rule of law, but also for the explicit purpose of targeting cities because of their willingness to defend civil liberties deserves no defense. The fact that the White House is launching such an idea in the first place should be of concern to citizens of all political stripes, as it demonstrates a clear disregard for the legal limits of power and a fortuitous will not to abide by them. the most basic laws and principles.

Fortunately, this time, the immigration and customs law enforcement department rejected such a plan and prompted whistleblowers to address the congress. But while Trump is trying to impose tougher immigration regulations, it seems to be only those kinds of objections he would want to get around.

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