Flashpost: Due Process & the Rule of Law

"No person shall be....deprived of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of law" - 5th Amendment

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." - 14th Amendment

There is a reason that both sections of the Constitution referencing Due Process make personhood, not citizenship, the necessary condition for due process. Limiting due process to citizens alone, effectively gets rid of due process for everyone.

This is not hyperbole.

Due Process is the very thing that makes sure that citizens get access to the rights and protections afforded to them under the law. Even if you believe that deporting non-citizens is a proper executive prerogative, to give anyone in the government the authority to do so without due process misses the mark.

Heck, even Dred Scott had due process - sure, the Supreme Court later held that people of African descent could not be citizens but coming to that conclusion required multiple appearances, arguments, and petitions before the Court on legal record.

Without the chance to refute the government's declaration of non-citizenship, citizens - those who are allegedly protected by the deportations - will be in danger of being detained, removed, and disappeared.

I think its time we have a serious conversation about whether or not the "Rule of Law" continues to matter in this country.