ICE’s presence causes fear in students, immigrants and citizens alike.
In the nine weeks since Donald Trump resumed office, the nation has gone through a wild whiplash. In many ways, the Constitution is being gutted. From going against the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment and the centuries-long understanding of the citizenship rights it confers to absolutely gutting the First Amendment by stripping certain news organizations of their press credentials, the Trump administration has consistently attacked the bedrock of American society.
This is most clear in the manner by which the administration has treated immigrants — both those who reside in the US in accordance with American law and are on a pathway to permanent citizenship as well as those who have entered the US via irregular migration. The administration has mobilized Immigration and Customs Enforcement to kidnap people right out of their homes without a warrant, emboldening ICE to detain them without due process — the foundation of the American legal system. ICE has also been used to silence protestors enacting their First Amendment right to free speech. For instance, they detained Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian protester and green card holder married to an American because of his pro-Palestinian speech. Ice also detained Rumeysa Ozturk, an outspoken pro-Palestinian doctoral student at Tufts University. Not only does ICE kidnap immigrants, they stop and question Native Americans — the only group of individuals who have an unequivocal, undeniable right to be on this land.
ICE’s rampage, furthered by Trump’s authorization of ICE to enter areas traditionally considered to be sensitive, such as religious sites and schools, has caused fear throughout the US including Tulsa. Less than a week after Trump resumed office, Tulsa Public Schools saw an increase in Hispanic unenrollment. Simply put, this means that schools are so unsafe due to the actions of the Trump administration that parents fear for the lives and wellbeing of their children to such a degree that they feel it necessary to sacrifice their children’s education to ensure these kids have a chance to grow up in the US, where many of them were likely born and raised.
This fear is further stoked by the administration’s continuous threats to due process. Under the Alien Enemies Act, an archaic law the Trump administration rests its mass deportations on, citizens of a nation that the US is in a declared war with or that attacks the US may be deported without having their day in court. While the merits of the law are up for debate, the fact of the matter is that the US is not currently in a declared war — not having done so since World War II — nor is any nation currently attacking the United States. Yet, the administration has evoked this law to deport members of Tren de Aragua, a designated foreign terrorist organization. The fact that those posing a tangible threat to the US should not be in the country is indisputable. That much is obvious. The issue at hand, however, is that deporting members of TdA far exceeds the boundaries imposed by the Alien Enemies Act. If Congress would like to confer to the president the power to deport terrorists, they must do so explicitly. Allowing the president to usurp a power not granted to him breaks down the principle of separation of powers further than it is already currently broken.
Congress simply allowing the president to do what he wishes rather than calling him out is their way of skirting the issue as, according to those in Congress, if they take no action against or in furtherance of Trump’s plans, the people cannot hold them accountable. This could not be further from the truth. When Congress does not act, that itself is an action. Allowing the president to take a legislative role is an action. Allowing the president to desecrate the founding principles of the Constitution is an action.
Additionally, removing someone from the country without due process is blatantly unconstitutional. The Fourteenth Amendment provides due process to all persons — not just all Americans. Aside from this fact, there are merits to allowing due process to all people, including those who have come to the US through means not provided by American law. It protects US citizens from government tyranny as well. If the government is able to point to a person and say they are not here legally, subsequently removing them from US soil without them being able to say a word in their defense, it is entirely possible that this could happen to a US citizen. This includes those born in the US who, having been deprived of a court in which to prove their citizenship, have no way to speak in their defense.
The ICE crackdown is nothing but continuous blows against the principles of the Constitution and Congress needs to take its power back. Every action the administration takes further breaks the separation of powers, strips the provisions included in the Bill of Rights, rips away guaranteed protections, and — it is no exaggeration to say — drives the US down the path of tyranny.
