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Undermining the Constitution: The US Administration's Attack on the Rule of Law

Undermining the Fifth Amendment

The Fifth Amendment

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.


Violations by the Trump Administration

Administration Action Why does this violate the Constitution? Notes
ICE deported three U.S. citizen children, ages 2, 4, and 7, along with their mothers. The mothers of the children, foreign nationals, were given neither appropriate opportunity to speak with lawyers nor the options available to care for the children. One of the children is suffering from metastatic cancer and, despite knowing of the child’s condition, ICE deported them without medication or the ability to consult with their doctor. The deportation of the 2-year old occured before their hearing scheduled by a federal judge. In response, the judge said that “It is illegal and unconstitutional to deport, detain for deportation, or recommend deportation of a U.S. citizen.”
Two U.S. citizen children were deported to Mexico along with their mother. They were given no due process before an immigration court.
ICE deported hundreds of foreign nationals, including at least one legal U.S. resident, without a hearing, lawyer, or due process of any kind. The Supreme Court ruled that migrants must be given notice and the chance to contest their deportation. The Trump Administration again attempted to deport more than 50 migrants without their legal rights, so the Supreme Court blocked any further deportations until further direction from the Court.
A Turkish doctoral student legally residing in the U.S. was arrested for writing an op-ed that criticized her university’s response to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Her arresting officers refused to let her speak to her lawyer. They also drove her from where she was arrested in Massachusetts to Vermont where she was flown to a detention facility in Louisiana, presumably to find a more favorable court ruling. This is a violation of free speech and the right to due process. A Vermont judge ordered that she be returned to New England.
A U.S. citizen was held for hours while trying to cross from the Canadian border. The officers refused to tell him why they were detaining him and he was not read his legal rights.
A 19-year-old U.S. citizen was wrongfully detained by immigration authorities for 10 days. The man, despite being a U.S. citizen and telling the officers such, was held unlawfully and no attempts were made to verify his claims. The man said that he had been taken by ambulance to a hospital to treat a seizure and, upon being released from care, did not have his I.D. on him. He asked federal officials for help returning home, but they arrested him and did not take his citizenship claim seriously until his family was allowed to bring his birth certificate to a hearing scheduled over a week later.
Immigration officials forcibly arrested a U.S. citizen Ph.D student for filming an ICE raid and informing others of their right to remain silent. The student exercising his Constitutional rights to free speech, he was arrested without probably cause, and he was not informed of his rights.