President Trump announced by Twitter on June 24 that illegal immigrants who “invade” the United States should be deported to their country of origin without going before a judge or court.
“We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country,” the president said on Twitter. “When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came. Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order.”
Trump’s use of the word “invade” to describe the large-scale illegal border crossings that have occurred in recent years, suggests that he is mindful of the provision in the Constitution that charges the federal government to protect the states against invasion. In an article for The New American last September, John F. McManus, the magazine’s former publisher, asked rhetorically if the Constitution said anything about illegal immigration.
He answered that Article IV, Section 4 assigns to the federal government the duty to “protect each of them [the states] against invasion,” noting that it does not stipulate that an invasion be done militarily.
Some critics of the administration’s immigration policies questioned the legality of the president’s proposed new policy. Lee Gelernt, the deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, told Reuters: “The administration cannot simply get rid of all process for immigrants. The due process clause absolutely applies. It’s not a choice.”
However, Reuters disputed that assertion, noting: “U.S. law does permit expedited deportations if an immigrant is apprehended within 100 miles of the border and has been in the country for less than 14 days. Those seeking asylum must be granted a hearing.”
Trump’s statement came just four days after he signed an executive order designed to keep together immigrant families who have been detained at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Photo: CBP.gov
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