Trump calls for illegal immigrants to be deported without any process of trial

On Sunday, President Trump stated that the U.S. should deport undocumented immigrants, without any process of trial, and went as far as to call them “invaders”.

The statement was released on Twitter, and it closed a quite controversial week for the Trump administration, as they faced the backlash from their former policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the U.S. border. The criticism did not stop after the president signed an executive order to prevent this from happening since the new policy would detain entire families instead of just the children. It also seemed that Trump was using the current situation to promote his ideas for harsher border security and his border wall project.

His tweet stated: “We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country. When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came. Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order.” This is a radical change from prior policy, where immigrants that were fleeing violence from Central American countries could make a case for their entrance to the U.S. and receive asylum. While courts usually did not rule in their favor, that opportunity was still offered to them. Trump also chose to frame the U.S. immigration legislation as something that has embarrassed the country for decades and that is disrespectful to people who come to the country legally. He also hinted at his will of ending chain migration, as he stated that immigration “must be based on merit”.

These statements have not helped the current climate surrounding immigration, as several politicians from the GOP struggle to find a set of laws that would satisfy all sides of the discussion. The federal government has also reportedly failed to communicate with officials all across the U.S. to instruct how to proceed with the immigrant children sent to different shelter centers. Even border security was not aware of how to act, as the president’s decision came without any notification in advance.

The House will move forward to vote on the Republican-backed immigration bill. However, the result of this is much more uncertain now than before, since Democrats have repeatedly stated their opposition to the bill and Republicans find themselves divided when it comes to policies and priorities.

Even though he managed to make a change in policy by last Wednesday, Trump’s rhetoric when addressing the subject did not undergo a significant change as the week moved on. He and his administration used to back his family-separating policy by saying that the parents were responsible for their children’s endangerment, as they brought them to the country illegally, and that the White House was merely enforcing the law. The tension and backlash intensified when Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen held a press briefing and echoed the previous arguments, while saying that the administration would not apologize for their measures.

The president’s tweets have also caused their respective backlash, as many have stated that his unofficial request is illegal. Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, has stated: “What President Trump has suggested here is both illegal and unconstitutional. Any official who has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws should disavow it unequivocally.” This has only added to the set of accusations regarding Trump’s illegal procedures, as many have deemed his latest executive order to go against the law as well.

Trump had been mentioning his desire to eliminate the prosecution process for illegal immigrants since early last week, as he had stated during a speech last Tuesday: “I don’t want judges. I want border security. I don’t want to try people. I don’t want people coming in.”