Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
Since 2021, the left has waged a veritable war against the American legal system in a variety of ways.
One serial target of Democrats and the Left has been the Supreme Court.
In 2020, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke to an angry throng of pro-abortion protestors assembled at the very doors of the court chambers.
He threatened two of the justices, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, by name. Schumer yelled to the volatile crowd that the justices’ views would make them “reap the whirlwind,” and the two would not know what “hit” them.
In the ensuing months, protestors mobbed some of the conservative justices’ homes—likely committing felonies. The sympathetic Biden Justice Department chose not to follow the law, and so did nothing—although eventually a would-be assassin turned up.
Joe Biden himself bragged that he would try to ignore the Supreme Court ruling banning his arbitrary cancellation of billions of dollars in student loans. Indeed, he boasted, “The Supreme Court blocked it, but that didn’t stop me.”
In response, no one on the left ever complained about endangering the “rule of law” or Biden as “a dictator.”
For three years, four local, state, and federal prosecutors warped the law to neuter Donald Trump. Most of the charges had never been brought against other political figures in similar circumstances.
The vast majority of the 93 weaponized indictments backfired on the liberal prosecutors, who had contorted the legal system for political purposes and now face their own ethical or legal quagmires.
The federal prosecutor Jack Smith belatedly reported accepting $140,000 in free legal services.
Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis was removed from the Trump case and fined, and is now under further investigation.
New York prosecutor Letitia James is now facing allegations of falsification of documents and loan fraud.
Federal immigration law prohibits the illegal entry into and residence within the United States. Yet the Biden administration deliberately violated the law by allowing somewhere between 10-12 million illegal aliens to cross the border. Thousands had criminal records.
No one on the left decried any of these various affronts to the legal system.
In polls, by overwhelming majorities—above 70 percent—the public wants the Trump administration to close the border, begin deportations, and start with criminals or those with violent histories and gang ties.
The recent deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien from El Salvador, to the vast majority of Americans seems to fit that profile.
Garcia entered the U.S. illegally and was later found consorting with members of M-13—a State Department-designated terrorist organization—who were selling drugs. Informants reported that he was a gang member. His own tattoos likely confirm those accusations.
Two prior immigration judges found such evidence sufficient to allow deportation proceedings. In 2019, a third judge allowed Garcia to stay temporarily, but only on the grounds that hostile gangs might harm him should he return to El Salvador.
Garcia was pulled over for speeding without a driver’s license—but with eight illegal aliens who reportedly all lived at the Garcia residence. The officer released him, despite suspicions that Garcia was engaged in human trafficking.
Garcia’s live-in girlfriend, now wife, was physically assaulted by Garcia on two occasions, suffered injuries, and initially sought restraining orders against him.
The left claims Garcia is a “Maryland man” without an arrest record.
But he is not a U.S. citizen or a legal resident of Maryland. Instead, Garcia is in legal limbo and remains what he always was—a citizen of El Salvador with gang ties and formerly residing illegally in the U.S.
Garcia is now back home on El Salvadorian soil and was mistakenly sent to a high-security prison. But his own government in El Salvador will ultimately decide how involved Garcia is or was with M-13 gangs. And then, as a sovereign nation, it will act according to its own policies about its own citizens’ associations with that terrorist organization.
The left has demanded that Garcia be returned to the U.S. He has become a cause célèbre as a purported victim of the supposedly fascist Trump. Returning Garcia is seen by leftists as a performance art-act to derail the Trump agenda, which otherwise they have neither the power nor public support to thwart.
The left also ignores its own hypocrisies and ironies.
Those who weaponized the court system and destroyed the border now rail that Trump is acting unlawfully by not returning an illegal alien, an M-13 member, and a domestic abuser with a propensity to ignore our laws.
How ironic that those who rail about colonialism now sound like 19th-century Yankee imperialists.
Democrats do not own El Salvador—although they act like it when dictating to its government that El Salvador cannot detain one of its own citizens on its own soil for its own reasons.
Please look at the plight of the Oklahoman family raided and mistaken for residents that had moved if someone apologizes it can become a positive.
Sincerely
Mick Brindle
Right house, wrong people, DHS admits, after raiding home of US citizens
The Department of Homeland Security said the previous residents were the intended targets for a search warrant in a human smuggling investigation.
Josh Kelly
Jessie Christopher Smith
Eduardo Cuevas
USA TODAYPlease look at the plight of the Oklahoman family raided and mistaken for residents that had moved
Dear Professor Hanson:
Our Judicial system posits —“Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
“Due process” is the legal court process which must be accorded every “American citizen” who has been “formally charged” of wrongdoing—-crime—who “requests” a trial with judge and a jury of their peers —where evidence must be given to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the accused is guilty—or innocent—-according to the jury verdict.
That principle cannot be applied to people who are already “factually guilty” beyond the shadow of a doubt. They’re here in our country illegally—have already broken our border laws—trespassed on land belonging to citizens, etc… It makes our law providing “due process” a mockery to even suggest a trial. They are not American citizens—they have no rights as American citizens. They are still citizens subject to the laws of the country of their birth. Unless they have “legal proof” that they belong here—send them back where they belong–they don’t need “legal permission” from any judge or Court.
It’s time to remind our arrogant domineering judges of their Oath of Office. They’re violating Article VI. The Constitution and federal law are the Supreme Law of the Land—and every judge is “bound” to uphold the Law of the Land–the border laws—and immigration laws of our nation. We need to start prosecuting judges, who think they “make” our laws—and take away their judgeships. Ruth Ruhl-LaMusga
Victor,
Take a look at the country to which the immigratiion judge said Kilmar was blocked from being deported to! It was Guatemala, not El Salvador.
To Victor and Richard –
Barrack Obama deported 438,421 illegal aliens in fiscal year 2013 of which 83% received no hearing before a judge.
Obama utilized two legal procedures to remove illegal aliens without a trial –
1. Expedited Removal (44%)
2. Reinstatement of Final Removal Orders (39%)
Only 17% of the deportations occurred using standard removal, voluntary departure, and expedited removal of criminal aliens.
Please see Craig Bannister’s article for mrcTV entitled “Dems Demand ‘Due Process’ for Illegal Aliens but Obama Deported 83% without Judge.”
What am I missing here? Why does whatever needs to happen to satisfy the “due process” component for Garcia’s status determination require that he be present in person when it takes place? Accused individuals are arraigned (and in some cases tried) via video links all the time. I’m sure El Salvador would cooperate with us to facilitate a virtual hearing, so set it up, get it done, and let’s move on.
Dr. Hanson,
Several times you have written requesting that the Democrats explain their plan or program to improve our country. They cannot because that is not their goal.
They have a different world view and a different goal than you and most of the people in the United States. Their goal is total domination and total control.
They masterfully manipulate and control the narrative, wielding deception as their argument of choice. Maybe they weren’t always this way, but certainly began to move in this direction in the mid-1800s until they have almost gained complete control over our country.
The change began as they started to embrace major concepts coming out of Europe: Enlightenment, Darwinism, and Marxism, thus eliminating the need for God in public and private life.
Mankind must worship something and the Democrats, or the Jacobins as you rightly call them, are willing to force the country to worship the government that they control.
Their plan has been slowed down for the moment but they haven’t changed and unless the people of this country turn to God, we will soon be back to where we were the first of January.
Truly, God wants a relationship with the people that He created, and He has given us a chance, but we have to want a relationship with Him, worship Him as God and obey Him as God.
Contrary to Leftist Beliefs, the American Revolution rests upon the concept that in spite of our individual characteristics, we can achieve equality under the law when the Political Party In Power respects Equal Protection Under the Law and Equal Bearing the Burdens of the Law for the Party Not In Power. However, the Left did not believe in doing this. They did not believe that the Wheel of Fate changes with the Weather Vane of Politics.
“When I use Due Process,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make Due Process mean so many different things.’
’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
P.S. Kilmar Garcia has indeed received due process of the law and has had the opportunity to justify his living in the United States illegally.
As stated by Victor Hanson, two judges have heard his arguments and concluded that he should be deported, and a third judge concurs but has made some sort of exception. Perhaps the holdup can be resolved by addressing the exception if he were still in the United States.
John Yoo, law professor at the University of California Berkley, was interviewed recently by podcast host Charlie Kirk and stated that due process of the law for a non-citizen in the United States is different than due process for an American accused of a crime.
The accused is able to appear before an immigration judge and perhaps a federal judge while the process seemed straight forward to demonstrate that one is not in the country illegally or that there is a mistaken identity.
Yoo believes that the current delays by idiosyncratic judges are intentionally enacted to delay deportation for three years. Kirk has noted that at today’s rate, there will be fewer deportations this year than under President Trump than under Joe Biden’s regime. Yoo recommends allocating more funds to employ more immigration judges.
It’s MS-13, not M-13. Please edit that before some trolling commies dismiss these facts to their fans because of the error, not because of the facts.
Isn’t it odd how the Left tries to be scrupuous about following the law vis-a-vis deportation but has no interest in following immigration law when illegal aliens are flooding the border.
If the Democrats didn’t have double standards, they’d have none.
Richard, you make an interesting question. The leftists on the streets today make 120 decibels of noise while ignoring established law and practice used by both Republican Presidents and Democrat Presidents in the past. Obviously, today’s Dem Party is not the Party of yesterday although probably most voters of that ilk like good little robots continue to vote Dem as though that Party carried the same values as it did 50-years ago. At least those in my family do that ;-(.
A brother-in-law made 3-attempts to cross the southern border in the 1970s and was caught 3-times and immediately removed by what we call ICE today. At that time, he did not want to wait 8-years for processing. The result was after attempt #3, he finally quit and never attempted it again. We did not learn of this until years later, not long before he left us without ever visiting here except for those 3-attempts.
Dems/leftists today surely would scoff at and belittle such a person and then rage at ICE.
Deport each and every illegal alien be they 12 or 30 million. Same with the low information, useful idiots in the streets carrying out Soros’ wishes.
Jerry, Biden did not merely break his Oath of Office, he actually threatened American citizens with F16s more than once. The first time was actually a shock to hear. Of course, the legacy media ignored it. As far as in know, no other president of either Party did such a thing, although, President Roosevelt did put citizens of Japanese ancestry into camps. So that might be a close second.
Mao Zedong, possibly the distant root of this leftist movement, thought ‘war was the highest form of struggle for resolving contradictions, and that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
I live where I do because of financial considerations. I’m retired and it isn’t easy to move, and it involves expenses that I cannot afford. If I were renting it would be different, I would have already been gone from here, selling isn’t easy. It wasn’t always this way, 22 years ago when I retired this was a very nice (but low income) neighborhood.
Closest gang members in my town live about 2 blocks away. Easy to spot since these idiots tattoo themselves on their hands, arms, neck and even on their face. You don’t dare look at them, or if you do, you do so ‘respectfully’, whatever that means. I was told by a local cop ‘that’s the way you interact with these clowns’ because can be violent at the drop of a hat, and have zero respect for life, human or otherwise.
Anything that isn’t tied or bolted down is subject to ‘removal’ by these thugs. I wonder if these judges and politicians that seem to be head over heels in love with these gangsters have the problems that my neighbors and I have? I seriously doubt it.
I hope Trump and ICE can remove these gangs soon. Barring that I just hope these gangs go and infest the neighborhoods of these judges and politicians and leave my neighbors and I alone.
Is that too much to ask?
The Left is pushing this country over a cliff. Look what happened in Bosnia.
I, of course enjoyed reading VDH’s article about the lopsided interpretation of the law and what democracy is. I am really worried about the incessant attacks on the rule of law in general and on the Trump Administration in particular. If they succeed even partially, they will not only undermine the rule of law but also make the choice of We The People (= elections) irrelevant. In a perfectly functioning Republic, if such a thing exists, I should not be worried at all. But given the composition of lower courts and the current appointment of the Supreme Court, do not give me reason to be relaxed. I know one thing: the continuous undermining of the law, together with wins of the lower courts, even if they are only sporadic, is not sustainable in the long run. And once we reach that point, what comes after that??
When I was graduate student in 1980s,I took a course in business law. One of the most memorable classes was about the constitution as a ‘living constitution” We were encouraged to accept this. Having spent many years inside the private sector, I asked how those ‘living’ interpretations would affect the future as well as the present? How do you make decisions without a strong Constitutional legal foundation? Decisions are made in part by what is legal and what is not. It is a slippery road to ruin when your decisions are not supported by universal principles.
trying to point out their own hypocrisy to a progressive is as frustrating as trying to get a narcissist to realize how their own self centered behavior is so destructive to the people around them. It is basically impossible. I certainly cannot be treated with meds. In the case of the progressive, the medication is the truth which has the same effect on the progressive as an SSRI on a narcissist. None! The only way to deal with this behavior is with strict boundaries or to get out of the relationship completely. This is our dilemma. Complaining between us may provide some therapy for us but does not have an impact on the perpetrator. In both cases, we are dealing with a. serious psychiatric disorder.
Belief in a conditional Constitution and conditional laws, that apply to one’s perceived enemies and not to one’s friends, is far too common. It has to be rooted out at all levels, from the governing elites on down. Otherwise, new faces with the same oppressive agendas will continue to wreck the nation.
The hypocrisy would be laughable were it not so outrageous.
Jerry,
Nicely put. I share your dismay and anger for what the Biden administration has done to our country and, more importantly, the rule of law. Their diabolical plan to upend our voting demographics and thus make themselves permanent rulers of our republic is most certainly treasonous. Especially considering they have flaunted the law on a massive scale.
Unfortunately, the screwed up Dems have the trial lawyers, law professors, and many judges doing their bidding so Trump is going to have an uphill battle rectifying this sorry state of affairs. But as a Houdini like survivor of 5 separate lawfare assaults I am confident he will prevail and make America great again.
If my understanding of the deportation options are correct, deportations can be criminal as in the case of the recent MS-13 removals, or they can be civil. And the civil deportations do not require the same legal requirements to implement.
Paul Beaumont, Spaulding, England, okay. “Morning, Bill, as President Trump is experiencing so much difficulty with his deportations, can you tell me, are President Obama managed to deport so many?” Excellent question from Paul over in England. There was no asylum change then. See, Biden changed the asylum laws. He let everybody, everybody, apply for asylum. And once they did, he let everybody in. Under Obama, you had to go to a port of entry. You had to fill out extensive forms. And most of people applying for asylum had to stay in their country until it was adjudicated. Obama didn’t let them in. And when you came across the border under President Obama for eight years, and they caught you, you went right back to Mexico. No internment, no this, no that. Turns you right around. That’s why he was able to deport so many people. But it was a very good question.
Everything I hear these days, is “due process” that is demanded by the Left for every illegal alien in our country. To which I say, “Where was MY DUE PROCESS as an American citizen during the Biden regime?” That man was elected (dubiously) and swore with his hand on the Bible to proclaim to all Americans that he would defend the Constitution of the US. What an absolute lie! I, and millions of other Americans, had ZERO DUE PROCESS during those awful 4 years. We simply had to take it like one gut punch after another.
If a candidate had said that he was going to allow an INVASION of 10-12 (likely over 15) million unvetted illegals into the country with the expectation that the US populace must provide them with food, housing, healthcare and education. Beyond that, the true motive is the expectation that these illegals will get to VOTE, (of course for the party that let them in). That candidate would have gone down in a massive defeat.
Now that the LIE has been exposed as a true motive, there is but one consequence that should be administered: TREASON. I’m not holding my breath…
What legal/judicial processes were used for deportations by previous US Presidents ?