Justice Sotomayor Captures Un-American Reality: Lawless Deportations with Impunity and No Accountability

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Washington, DC — The Supreme Court ruling yesterday offered a green light to the Trump administration’s efforts to deport immigrants to third countries – including war-torn areas – and without due process constraints or basic accountability. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent, “The government has made clear in word and deed that it feels itself unconstrained by law, free to deport anyone anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard.”

The dangerous overreach by President Trump and Stephen Miller does not stop there. The terrifying reality of their disdain for the core pillars of our democracy is playing out in communities across America, as masked ICE agents lacking identification are – often violently – targeting, detaining and deporting students, workers, community members and even U.S. citizens.

According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

“Masked men with guns in unmarked cars. No identification. No warrant. Tearing our neighbors, co-workers and friends off the streets. No due process. Now, they will not only be kidnapped from our streets, but could be deported to a dangerous third country with impunity and without due process.

This is Trump and Steven Miller’s increasingly vigilante America. They are demonstrating utter contempt for due process and the rule of law. Americans are recoiling as they experience militarized ICE raids and unidentified agents in masks and tactical gear tackle and ensnare long settled residents with families, jobs, lives and stakes in America. What is playing out before our eyes is at odds with democratic norms and basic American values and interests.”

Below find recent coverage on the continued impact of Trump’s anti-immigration policies:

• CNN, “Masked ICE officers: The new calling card of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown,” including: “It has become the new calling card of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown: Federal officers, often masked and not wearing uniforms or displaying badges, arresting people outside courtroom hearings, during traffic stops and in workplace sweeps.”
• Los Angeles Times, “‘Who are these people?’ Masked immigration agents sow fear in L.A., vex local police,” including: “They show up without uniforms. They show up completely masked. They refuse to give ID,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during a news briefing after the Dodger Stadium incident. “Who are these people? And frankly, the vests that they have on look like they ordered them from Amazon. Are they bounty hunters? Are they vigilantes? If they’re federal officials, why is it that they do not identify themselves?””
• KTLA, “Masked men in U.S. Border Patrol vests take Santa Ana father after repeatedly hitting him,” including: “In a video circulating on social media, a group of masked U.S. Border Patrol agents is seen striking and subduing a man in Santa Ana before forcing him into the back of an unmarked car on Saturday.”

• NPR, “A journalist known for covering immigration is arrested by ICE”, including: “A journalist originally from El Salvador, known for covering immigration in the U.S., was detained by U.S. Immigration officials after covering a protest in Georgia.”

• The Guardian, “‘I’m scared to death to leave my house’: immigrants are disappearing from the streets – can US cities survive?” including: “immigrants with legal status and even US citizens have been swept into Donald Trump’s dragnet.”

• Truthout, “Trump’s ICE Agents Are Arresting US Citizens. GOP Budget Would Hire 10,000 More,” noting that, “billions of dollars for ICE and border patrol in Trump’s budget bill would supercharge the chaotic crackdown.”