'Trump Is Not Abraham Lincoln': CNN Analyst Rips Apart the President's Attack on the Constitution
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump took the extraordinary step of calling for an end to the due process rights for people accused of unauthorized border crossings, despite the protections afforded to these people by the U.S. Constitution.Â
"We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country," Trump tweeted on Sunday."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. Most children come without parents..."
As CNN's Brooke Baldwin noted Monday, this directive would remove many people with a legal right to be in the country.
"That includes everyone, including asylum seekers, who by the way, are covered by the law," Baldwin said.
However, if Trump's direction were actually carried out, it would be even more expansive than Baldwin stated. With no due process, border agents would be empowered to deport literally anyone — even U.S. citizens — because there would be no legal recourse for anyone merely accused of an immigration violation.
"We've only seen even a temporary suspension of due process rights in the United States during times of war," noted CNN legal analyst Paul Callan. "And President Trump is not Abraham Lincoln, and this is not the Civil War."
He continued: "People who step on American soil are granted due process rights — they don't have to be U.S. citizens. And due process just means that there will be a fair process to decide whether you're a legitimate refugee — political — seeking asylum, and that's what it means in this case."
Watch the clip below:
"President Trump is not Abraham Lincoln, and this is not the Civil War." CNN's Paul Callan responds to the Presiden… https://t.co/VVpjKAznZV— CNN Newsroom (@CNN Newsroom)1529952596.0