Trump undermines "Due Process" in Abrego Garcia deportation to El Salvador
President Trump is circumventing the foundation of the U.S. Constitution in his pursuit and deportation of individuals accused of crimes by eliminating "Due Process" and the "rule of law"
By Ray Hanania
FREE/Trump Politics Expulsions El Salvador/Wednesday, April 16, 2025
What has made America different from Communist China or Communist Russia? It’s a simple question with huge ramifications.
The answer is a powerful principle that is the cornerstone of American Democracy and Freedom called “Due Process.” (See the explanation of “Due Process” at the end of this column.)
Most Americans learned about “Due Process” when they were in elementary school studying the Constitution. It is essential to a Democracy because it protects people from being bullied or punished for allegations of crimes they did not do.
Unfortunately, under President Trump, “Due Process” has been politicized and is only applied when it benefits his political agenda.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a good example of how “Due Process” has been circumvented in order to achieve a political goal, which is to forcibly remove unwanted non-citizens from the country, an offshoot of the bigger drive to forcibly expel undocumented residents who entered America illegally.
Abrego Garcia is “accused” without proper “Due Process” or being a member of Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, an international criminal gang founded in Los Angeles, California in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. Over time, the gang grew into a more traditional criminal organization.
Abrego Garcia, 29, came to America from El Salvador, one of the most violent and corrupt countries in Central America, nestled between Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua along the Pacific Ocean. (There is more information on the corruption of El Salvador at the end of this column.) He has lived in America for 14 years since he was 15 years old. He found a construction job, got married, and raised three disabled children.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Abrego Garcia in 2019 as he was looking for day labor outside a Home Depot in Maryland. A police informant told police that Abrego Garcia was a member of the violent gang, MS-13. Immigration judges denied Abrego Garcia's bond, based on that claim, both initially and on appeal, which cited the informant’s accusation.
In the initial denial, the judge said the determination of Abrego Garcia’s gang membership “appears to be trustworthy and is supported” by evidence from the Gang Field Interview Sheet which, in part, referenced the informant. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have repeatedly said in court that the informant’s accusation was fabricated.
In other words, the judge took the word of the informant over Abrego Garcia’s word. It was never proven in a court of law that Abrego Garcia was in fact a member of MS-13
The immigration judge’s decision to deny bond is not equivalent to ruling that Abrego Garcia was a gang member, David Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said.
On March 15, the US government deported Abrego Garcia to CECOT, a Salvadoran mega-prison where Trump has sent hundreds of Salvadoran and Venezuelan men who were previously in the US. But Abrego Garcia had protection that was supposed to prevent him from being deported to El Salvador. The Justice Department called Abrego Garcia’s deportation an “oversight” and “an administrative error” in a court filing. The U.S. Supreme ruled his expulsion was illegal and ordered that he be given his “Due Process.” Click to read.
President Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a right-wing Fascist, too, accused Abrgoe Garcia of all kinds of crimes, although none of the alleged crimes were ever brought before a criminal court judge. They are just accusations.
And that is where Due Process comes in, to protect the rights of all human beings in America. The Department of Immigration has flexibility on side-stepping some laws but is required to prove its accusations.
Rather than be forced to prove the accusations, Trump and Rubio simply expelled him to El Salvador’s prison where he certainly is being tortured and will probably be murdered as a means of ending the debate over Trump’s circumvention of the law.
Without “Due Process,” America has no Democracy and that is Trump’s goal, to become a dictator who defines the laws to suit his personal agenda, including to seek a Third Term as President of the United States.
Without “Due Process,” no one in America is safe. Right now, Trump and Rubio are focused on individuals here on visas and who are not full citizens. But once “Due Process” is destroyed, they can turn their attention to arresting and deporting American citizens.
During the rise of Adolph Hitler, the Nazi government began the construction of concentration camps in neighboring countries where the unwanted were deported and incarcerated, without “Due Process,” which was also a core foundation of Germany’s “Basic Laws” and legal system.
Hitler had the concentration camps, which later became death camps, built in neighboring countries that it occupied specifically to avoid any legal effort in Germany to establish the rights of the deported.
Now in El Salvador, Abrego Garcia has no rights.
You might want to learn a little bit more about El Salvador’s violent and corrupt history and government. We all might end up there, very soon.
Information on “Due Process:”
Due process, a cornerstone of the US legal system, ensures fairness and protects individuals from arbitrary government actions by requiring established procedures and legal safeguards before the government can deprive someone of life, liberty, or property. It encompasses both procedural and substantive aspects.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
What it is:
Due process, enshrined in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the US Constitution, means that the government must act fairly and according to established legal procedures when it takes actions that could affect someone's fundamental rights.
Procedural Due Process:
This focuses on the how of government action, ensuring that individuals are given proper notice of a government action, the opportunity to be heard, and a fair hearing before a neutral decision-maker.
Examples of Procedural Due Process:
Right to notice of a legal action.
Right to a hearing and an opportunity to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
Right to a neutral and impartial tribunal.
Right to counsel in some cases.
Right to a decision based on the evidence presented.
Substantive Due Process:
This focuses on the what of government action, ensuring that laws and government actions do not infringe upon fundamental rights, even if the procedures are followed.
Examples of Substantive Due Process:
Protection of fundamental rights like freedom of speech, religion, and privacy.
Ensuring that laws are not arbitrary or discriminatory.
Historical Context:
The concept of due process has roots in the Magna Carta, which limited the power of the English monarchy and established the principle that no one should be deprived of their rights except by the lawful judgment of their peers or by the law of the land.
Why it matters:
Due process is crucial for protecting individual liberties and ensuring that the government acts fairly and justly. It prevents the government from acting arbitrarily or unfairly, and it helps to ensure that people are treated with respect and dignity under the law.
Due Process Hearing:
A due process hearing is a formal legal proceeding where parties present their arguments and evidence to a neutral hearing officer, who then makes a decision.
Information on El Salvador:
Corruption Perception and Rankings
According to Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, El Salvador scored 31 out of 100, ranking 126th out of 180 countries. This score indicates a high perception of public sector corruption and represents a decline from previous years.
Governmental Corruption and Accountability
Several high-ranking officials in President Nayib Bukele's administration have been implicated in corruption. The U.S. government has sanctioned multiple officials, including Bukele's legal advisor, press secretary, and former finance minister, labeling them as corrupt and undemocratic actors.
In 2021, the Bukele administration dissolved the International Commission Against Impunity in El Salvador (CICIES), an anti-corruption body established in collaboration with the Organization of American States. The dissolution occurred after CICIES began investigating alleged corruption within Bukele's government.
Bukele himself has been accused of overseeing secret assassination squads that have targeted his political enemies.
Allegations Involving President Bukele
Investigative reports have raised concerns about President Bukele and his family's accumulation of wealth. Between 2019 and 2023, the Bukele family reportedly acquired 34 properties valued at approximately $9 million. These acquisitions include land in protected areas and properties exempted from taxes, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest and misuse of power.
Another informative article!
No one should be surprised. This was all part of Project 2025 agenda. Anyone who voted for Trump, voted for this. Sadly, most people did not read it to see what was coming.