The news is that Trump’s administration has gone around the authority of federal judge James Boasberg and deported an alleged group of criminals to El Salvador.
Without dwelling on the alleged membership in Tren de Aragua of the men who have been deported, it is important to note that the men who were deported to Bukele’s prison in El Salvador have not been adjudicated to belong to the criminal organization. This is to say, it is entirely possible that innocent men have been swept up in Trump’s farce and have been expelled to a prison where they will find extremely harsh conditions. Imagine being a day laborer and trying to make ends meet by crossing the border with the United States. Does this act give the United States the right to deport the unfortunate innocent person who may be caught in this political theater to the hemisphere’s most infamous prison? What has happened to due process?
The crisis to the rest of us is that judge Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to not deport the men they had in custody to El Salvador. Ignoring the judge brings us to the constitutional crisis. The crisis lies in the fact that the judiciary establishes the rules by which the other two branches of government, the executive and the legislative branches, operate. It is the judiciary that interprets the laws and the constitution so that the other two branches can operate within the law. By ignoring judge Boasberg, Trump has decidedly opted to operate outside the law. This may seem like a silly argument: who wants to defend Tren the Aragua gang members? But the fact remains that judge Boasberg issued an order so that the alleged gang members would get due process. That is all judge Boasberg was saying.
By willfully ignoring the judge’s decision, Trump has declared himself to be above the law. This is a serious constitutional crisis because the Constitution declares that the three branches of government must operate within the confines of the law.
We live in interesting times.