It gets old, the attacks from the right who accuse we Democrats of 'hating America' because we back Boasberg. 'You support terrorists', they keep shouting. The reply is 'no, we support due process'. Without it, we lose our republic, so it is out of LOVE for America that we back the judge, for all he is interested is that those souls get a fair hearing, so that the innocent aren't sent to some prison where their hope of freedom will be lost, probably in a hellish place for a long long time. Consider this story, which emboldens our case for 'due process'.
So it has happened that the Trump administration, that erstwhile bastion of misrule, embarked on a ruthless campaign to uproot hundreds of Venezuelan migrants scattered across this vast land. They did so with the stealth of a jackal, executing deportations without notice or the dignity of due process. These unfortunate souls were dispatched to the unforgiving confines of a prison in El Salvador--a fate as ironic as it is tragic. Now, the curtain is finally lifting on the evidence marshaled against these exiles, and it is nothing short of preposterous.
Take, for instance, the case of Jerce Reyes Barrios,
a professional soccer player--yes, a player who fled the suffocating grip of dictator Nicolás Maduro in search of freedom, only to find himself ensnared by the very apparatus designed to protect him. Barrios had settled in the United States, eagerly awaiting an asylum hearing when ICE agents descended upon him like vultures. The accusation? That he was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim rooted not in hard evidence but in the flimsy fabric of xenophobic hysteria.
What, pray tell, constituted the evidence against Barrios? Two items, both laughable in their absurdity. First, a tattoo on his arm--an innocuous crown perched atop a soccer ball, allegedly emblematic of gang affiliation. The truth, as his attorney Linette Tobin clarifies, is that this tattoo is a tribute to the Real Madrid soccer team, a fact as lost on the powers that be as a whisper in a tempest. Secondly, there exists a photograph in which Barrios is gesturing with both hands--a gesture misconstrued by the ever-suspicious agents as a sign of gang allegiance. Yet, in the world of American Sign Language, this very gesture signifies “I love you,” or is often embraced as a symbol of rock 'n' roll.
Such grotesque misinterpretations seem to be a recurrent theme among those caught in this legislative nightmare. Consider another migrant, referred to as E.V., whose tattoos depict anime, flowers, and animals, yet were grotesquely rebranded as indicators of gang ties. According to his attorney, the crown adorning his skin is not a badge of criminality but a heartfelt homage to his late grandmother.
The Kafkaesque nature of this ordeal escalates as we delve into the tales of others similarly victimized. One, known as J.A.B.V., bore tattoos of a rose, a clock, and his son’s name--all benign symbols that ICE agents twisted into evidence of criminal affiliation. Despite having lived without a criminal record, he was nevertheless shipped away on the flimsiest of charges. L.G. endured a similar fate, his tattoos--one a rosary, another his partner’s name--branded as marks of gang loyalty. The absurdity reaches new heights with Anyelo Jose Sarabia, who was accused based on a tattoo of a Bible verse and a rose adorned with petals of money.
One cannot help but feel a twinge of irony: many of these individuals sought refuge from Tren de Aragua, only to be demonized as members of that very gang. A particularly poignant case involves an unnamed migrant who had applied for asylum, fleeing from the very harm he now faces, yet was unceremoniously deported while living in a New York homeless shelter with his family.
The administration seems to operate under a perverse presumption that any Venezuelan migrant bearing tattoos must be, by default, a member of Tren de Aragua, guilty until proven innocent--a condition that becomes impossible in the absence of due process. Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, under the ludicrous belief it permits the expulsion of noncitizens without judicial oversight, exposes a shocking disdain for constitutional principles. The Department of Justice, ever the willing accomplice, hastens to bypass the courts, claiming that Trump’s decisions exist in a realm beyond judicial scrutiny.
This is not the first time such absurdity has reared its head. During Trump’s initial tenure, ICE made a habit of accusing noncitizens of gang membership based on little more than inked skin. A federal judge once accused ICE agents of perjury regarding the tattoos of a DACA recipient, ultimately liberating him from unlawful detention. The lesson learned, it seems, is that when afforded the privilege of due process, these victims can challenge the flimsy fabrications that the government spins around them. In response, the authorities have concocted new legal theories, intent on preventing judicial review of their actions.
The question remains: did ICE specifically target these men based on their tattoos, or were they rounded up first, with excuses fabricated later? These details warrant scrutiny, and soon the victims’ lawyers will be entitled to interrogate the architects of this dystopian scheme. What is essential now is that judges have the opportunity to sift through the so-called evidence, allowing the scales of justice to balance before this grotesque theater evolves into a full-scale assault on the constitutional rights of all immigrants.
As we observe this unfolding drama, one cannot help but wonder where the limits of absurdity lie in this creeping authoritarianism. In the grand tapestry of American governance, this chapter stands as a cautionary tale of a nation grappling with its conscience amid a cacophony of injustice. The time has come to demand accountability, lest we descend further into a quagmire of Trumpian madness and, yes, I'll say it, it needs to be said, it needs to be shouted on rooftops across America, TYRANNY.
I've been shouting a simple message since I joined this forum short while ago, it's called
'due process'. Some said the 'gang members' got DP, but, alas, I wouldn't trust ICE nor Trump to uphold 'due process', when Trump as literally defecated all over it, for some time, now.
As the delegates finalized the U.S. Constitution, Franklin, who was 81 years old at the time, exited the hall. According to historical accounts, a woman--often identified as Elizabeth Willing Powel, a well-known Philadelphia socialite and wife of Samuel Powel--approached Franklin and asked:
"Well, Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?"
Franklin responded: "A republic, if you can keep it."
IF WE CAN KEEP IT.
I'd like to know who on this forum understands that, without upholding the core principle of due process, we won't 'keep it', it will be lost, we will become a republic of the banana variety? Please stand up a
Oh, I suppose I could holler 'I told you so', as, it seems, my chicken little predictions are coming to pass, and, are neither chicken, nor little. So......
What will keep our republic--our democracy--from falling apart? Pray for the following:
- A balance of power among co-equal branches of government.
We've lost Congress--too many members have donned kneepads for Trump--leaving us to rely almost entirely on the judiciary to hold the line.
- A vigorous, independent press.
The free press is not the enemy of the people--it’s the watchdog that keeps power in check and truth in circulation. It's the one institution that stands between tyranny and you, the citizen, it's the first amendment, and it's the first for a reason, where the second is important, but nothing protects us from tyranny more than a vigorous & free press. Note that I didn't say 'honest' or 'unbiased' because of the three, 'honest, 'bias', and 'vigorous' only the latter is not subject (as much) to interpretation.
- A military that honors its oath.
When they swear to defend the Constitution, it’s not just words. It’s a commitment to the rule of law, not to any one man or party.
- A judiciary that defends the Constitution and the law.
Judges who stand firm, even under pressure from a hostile executive branch, are the last bulwark of democracy. They must be willing to sacrifice popularity, power, or position in defense of constitutional principle.
- We, the people.
A republic doesn’t sustain itself. It lives or dies by the engagement, courage, and conscience of its citizens. If we stay silent while democracy is dismantled, we become accomplices. But if we vote, speak out, protest, organize, and refuse to surrender truth to propaganda--we become the immune system of the republic. No constitution, no court, no press can save democracy if the people don’t care to.
We’re Finally Seeing the “Evidence” Against the Migrants Deported by Trump. It’s Unbelievable.
The Trump admin said a soccer player had a gang tattoo. It’s a tattoo of Real Madrid’s logo.
slate.com
After the Trump administration rounded up hundreds of Venezuelan migrants around the country—without notice or court hearings—and sent them off to a prison in El Salvador, we’re finally getting details on who was deported and why. And the more we learn, the more obvious it becomes why the government is so eager to expel these individuals without any semblance of due process. It claims that these men are terrorists by virtue of their alleged membership in the Tren de Aragua gang—but evidence of this affiliation is weak to the point of nonexistence.
Consider Jerce Reyes Barrios, one victim of the deportations: a professional soccer player who had fled Venezuela after protesting against dictator Nicolás Maduro and was living peacefully in the U.S. until the government snatched him up and deported him to El Salvador. Linette Tobin, Barrios’ attorney, submitted a declaration in federal court that detailed the disturbing reasons why her client was targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After entering the U.S. last year, Barrios was scheduled to have an asylum hearing in April. But on Saturday, he was arrested and held at a San Diego detention facility after ICE agents accused him of being a member of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang that President Donald Trump has been fixated on to fulfill his mass-deportation plan.
www.vox.com
