Deporting migrant criminals was in part what President Donald Trump was elected to do. But he must do this within the bounds of American law. The administration argues that each recently deported Venezuelan was carefully vetted for gang affiliation. The alleged gang members were deported without a hearing in an immigration court; much less a criminal conviction.
Trump claims the migrants weren’t entitled to due process, invoking the Alien Enemies Act. This act can only be invoked when there has been a declaration of war. The deportees were frog-marched into a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
Many families have said innocent relatives were swept up in a cross-country dragnet who had done nothing to warrant being locked in a brutal foreign prison. Trump argues that he gets to decide what counts as an invasion and who is an enemy immigrant.
Trump is asserting he has the authority to seize any person off the street and have them locked up in a foreign prison. This is a rejection of the rule of law, which is the bedrock of our Constitution. When a federal judge ordered the deportations paused because of due process issues; the planes continued to El Salvador.
The possible miscarriage of justice is now front and center. A court order can be appealed, but it must be obeyed. If Trump violates that order, we no longer have a democracy but a government that operates at the whims of one person.
We are approaching a showdown between a president who rejects the rule of law and a judge sworn to enforce the Constitution and its laws.
We are at a tipping point. Each American must to decide: Is the president bound by our laws, or is the law whatever a president chooses?
Choose wisely. The future of our democracy is in the balance.
— Jerry Hanson, Elkhorn, Wisconsin
Due process matters
President Donald Trump has deported people to El Salvador, saying they are the worst of the worst. We now know that this is not entirely true.
We need to know: the names of the individuals, what crimes they have committed and what court convicted them of the crimes.
Our Constitution grants even the worst of the worst due process of the law. These people were not given this opportunity.
Trump has said that we are at war. We know that this is not true as only Congress can declare war, not the president.
We should all be concerned. Can the government simply enter our homes, chain us, drag us out and ship us to another country without due process?
— Bob Jackson, Libertyville
Stoking recession fears
Along with such obvious untruths as “the border is secure,” “President Joe Biden is as sharp as he’s ever been” and “inflation is transitory,” the previous administration and legacy media outlets during the past four years informed the public that the nation was not in a recession, even when we had two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Now that the current administration is keeping good on its promises to root out waste, fraud and abuse in federal government and to reduce government spending, media outlets, including the Tribune Editorial Board, fan the flames of recession fear and seek to blame one, should one occur, on President Donald Trump.
With no sense of irony or history, for example, the fourth paragraph of the March 24 lead editorial (“The president loves to slap his name on things. Does he really want a ‘Trumpcession’?”) notes that the U.S. Federal Reserve recently declined to cut interest rates purportedly “to fight the inflationary effect of Trump’s self-defeating trade policies.” Yet interest rates are where they are partly because of the profligate spending habits of previous administrations, including ill-advised and unnecessary trillion-dollar blowouts in the name of COVID-19 relief and a college debt forgiveness program that simply transferred debt from borrowers to taxpayers and that the U.S. Supreme Court held unconstitutional. Trump’s tariff policies, however ill-advised, are mostly not yet in effect.
Similarly, the editorial board’s call to cancel the Trump “economic reality show” before it purportedly sinks “the strong-ish economy he inherited from President Joe Biden” is simply risible. After four years of uncontrolled illegal immigration and profligate spending by whoever was actually running the Biden presidency, the U.S. economy and American consumers were under the largest national debt of all time and the highest inflation in 40 years. If that’s “stong-ish,” then I would hate to see a “weak-ish” economy!
— David L. Applegate, Huntley
Citizens can do more
Kudos to Marj Halperin for her March 24 op-ed “Democratic voters want more of everything.” Her observations that Democratic Party leaders are not doing nearly enough to push back against President Donald Trump and MAGA is right on. Democrats could certainly steal some of the media space from Trump, Elon Musk and MAGA with daily press conferences that forcefully attack MAGA’s anti-democratic, vile and illegal actions.
Democrats should communicate in simple terms how these actions are or will be impacting regular Americans. Democrats need to put forward their most passionate, articulate and charismatic representatives to conduct these sessions. Having real people, who have been devastated by these actions, testify at these pressers would humanize the impacts, as well. There are plenty of real-life horror stories every single day.
Democrats should be filing criminal charges against the Department of Government Efficiency and calling for congressional investigations. Blue state governors and attorneys general need to fight back, as some already have.
I would expand on Halperin’s opinion piece, though, to say that not only should the Democratic Party be doing more, but we as citizens can do more, as well.
We may feel hopeless and powerless in the face of the unwarranted suffering and cruelty Trump and his billionaire cronies are perpetrating on us all, but we can have an impact if we act. Thousands across the country are crowding into town halls and protesting in the streets in both red and blue districts, demanding accountability and loudly opposing Trump’s autocratic tactics. Thousands more are contacting their elected representatives on a daily basis to let them know their opposition to Trump’s actions and to demand that our representatives truly represent us.
If readers need some guidance or a little push to take a few minutes a day to act, join an Indivisible chapter such as the chapter led by Halperin. Indivisible emails daily actions with easy links to your elected representatives as well as invites to peaceful protests and rallies. In addition to Indivisible, readers can check out such sources as Simon Rosenberg, Jessica Craven and Robert Hubbell for actions you can take, including donating and volunteering.
And when you meet people who feel there is nothing they can do, direct them, as I do, to groups and organizations that can lead them to take action with like-minded citizens.
— Mary Wilson, Chicago
Tired of the bickering
In Marj Halperin’s March 24 opinion piece, she asks: “When will Democrats step up to ‘flood the zone’ with the vigorous fight for our democracy that this moment demands?” Once again, Democrats insinuate that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are out to destroy democracy. She wonders why Democrats aren’t holding daily news conferences to “save our freedoms” from the constructive actions this administration is taking.
Last November, Americans voted to make our streets safe again, remove violent criminals who are here illegally, and purge our government of corruption, fraud and financial waste. Sounds like effective responses are being taken by this administration. I’m not sure how these actions are destroying Americans’ freedoms. Plus, screaming “Nazi” and burning Tesla cars are certainly not the logical solutions we need as Americans.
I think I understand why Democrats aren’t holding daily news conferences to present their ideas and solutions to these current problems. It’s because they don’t have any ideas or solutions. Nor do they have any political willingness to cooperate and discuss moving forward together. For four years, President Joe Biden’s administration did not provide ideas or solutions that the American people cared about. As supposed leaders, Democrats did not perform well, tossing important issues aside while concentrating their efforts on destroying one man that they feared would upset their hold on power and expose the corruption and fraud that festered in our government.
For years, the American people watched the Democrats continuously attack Trump, his business and his family. Rather than applying themselves to the jobs they pledged an oath to uphold, their top priority and focus was to publicly crush Trump. The liberal media ensured this negativity was broadcast to the public. Democrats continue to openly display resistance and opposition rather than compromise and negotiation.
I don’t see Democrats offering up ideas and solutions anytime soon. They didn’t demonstrate a cooperative agenda for four years under Biden, and last November, the American people spoke. Instead, Democrats continue to wear their shirts and wave their protest signs that say “resist” for all to see.
Drop the deranged hate and consider new options. Americans are tired of bickering political parties and constant opposition. We’d prefer a united government that works together toward solutions that benefit the people. So cut the crap already.
— Paul G. Klacko, Campton Hills
Off-year races matter
Regarding the article “Wisconsin race draws attention of billionaires” (March 23): I suppose rich people have the right to give money where they wish. Nevertheless, it seems disingenuous for Gov. JB Pritzker to weigh in on Wisconsin politics.
The article helps illuminate where many issues reach a fulcrum: the courts and its leaders, who influence for so many years. This behooves voters to be paying attention to these significant, but off-year, races. As for me and my house, we will serve the lord of life!
— Al Theis, Tinley Park
Elon Musk’s meddling
America PAC, a super political action committee tied to Elon Musk, is offering Wisconsin voters $100 for signing a petition in opposition to “activist judges.” It offers them an additional $100 for each signer they refer. The fact that Musk must buy votes rather than persuade them by legal means shows that his cause may not be as good as he thinks.
You see how money corrupts government when there is little to no regulation of its accumulation or of its dispersal? This is naked bribery, which once was illegal in America.
Musk’s new lobbying program helps his company Tesla “secure a favorable ruling in his company’s lawsuit against the state,” according to the campaign spokesperson for the Democratic-backed candidate for the state’s Supreme Court.
Musk says he is preventing voting fraud. Some Americans might believe that this form of money laundering through a PAC means that it is Musk who is committing the fraud.
The very goal of becoming a billionaire in America is no longer to help other people but to crush them.
— Kimball Shinkoskey, Salt Lake City, Utah
Narrative about merit
For all of President Donald Trump’s ignorant bluster over diversity, equity and inclusion, one would be led to the erroneous conclusion that this country has been built solely on the backs of meritorious white men who somehow outshone women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and differently abled people to create the very bedrock of American society. That would be a false assumption.
The insinuation that merit is most likely to be found in rich white men who are preferably Christian, whether they live such faith or not, is insulting. This administration seeks to erase history, to erase the gains made over generations for greater civil rights for those who do not fit the white male hegemonic mold. This mold was created and sustained to concentrate power in the hands of the few, while seeking to oppress the many.
While Trump cannot truly erase the events of history, he has already done incalculable damage by employing violent rhetoric against anyone who differs from him in ways he deems unacceptable. I fully expect historians to treat him with the harsh scrutiny his character and his so-called leadership deserve.
In the current moment, it is imperative to remain vigilant against this small-hearted bully who has a pulpit with global reach. Standing up against injustice is critical, even if fierce resistance against injustice will not always have the desired outcome. Indeed, fighting against the utter dehumanization of groups deemed “other” is necessary to preserve the tender bloom of human decency that still remains, I am convinced, within the collective soul of this nation we love.
— Jenny Kuderer, Goodview, Minnesota
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