As it attempts to secure the nation’s southern border, the Trump administration must adhere to the rule of law. The president’s policies far too often have eschewed legal remedies in exchange for actions driven by dogma and specious reasoning.
Such was the case in a court decision last week out of Seattle. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled that people who are detained after entering the country to seek protection are constitutionally entitled to bond hearings and the chance to be released from custody. In April, Attorney General William Barr had announced that some asylum-seekers who have established credible fear and are subject to deportation cannot be released on bond by immigration judges — a reversal that could lead to immigrants being held indefinitely.
“It is the finding of this Court that it is unconstitutional to deny these class members a bond hearing while they await a final determination of their asylum request,” Pechman wrote.
In considering the issue of immigration, Trump and his supporters often argue that people attempting to enter the United States should do so legally. We agree. But it is essential to understand that seeking asylum is, in fact, one legal method for seeking entry.
It also is essential to understand that the courts and Congress are co-equal branches of government. Trump’s criticisms of those branches whenever they attempt to place a check on his policies represent a dictatorial power grab and undermine the foundation of our constitutional democracy. Pechman, in her ruling, referred to “50 years of statutory and case law supporting the rights of persons detained for non-criminal reasons to be released upon posting bond.”
Meanwhile, the administration maintains indefensible policies regarding the holding of migrants at detention centers along the border. Photos and first-person accounts have depicted horrific conditions that belie the notion of humane treatment, and court documents have detailed children being held with inadequate food, no toothbrushes and no shower facilities.
As a reminder: This is on top of a policy that has separated children from their parents with no clear procedure for reuniting them in the future. Since acknowledging the policy in mid-2018, administration officials have provided inaccurate information about the number of separated families and have disingenuously claimed that the program began during the Obama era. According to Politifact, “Obama’s immigration policy specifically sought to avoid breaking up families.” Trump’s immigration policy appears to revel in it.
Previously, the Department of Homeland Security ran the Family Case Management Program, releasing families to be monitored by social workers. According to a contractor that ran the program, 99 percent of participants later showed up for court appearances. In 2017, the Trump administration shut down the program without explanation and opted to hold asylum-seekers in immigration camps, often separating families.
Undoubtedly, immigration is an issue that presidents and Congress have struggled with for years. Having a secure border and requiring would-be immigrants to go through established legal procedures is a worthy and important goal. But the Trump administration’s policies too often drift from a desire for security and into the realm of cruelty.
They also too often drift into lawlessness, as a series of court rulings have demonstrated. While those rulings invariably draw criticism from the president, in truth they are essential to keeping the United States beholden to the rule of law that is necessary for the nation’s survival.
