Ex-US attorney details 'fight' ahead as Trump tries to 'strip citizens of constitutional rights'
Pam Bondi, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general, reacts as she testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Former United States attorney Joyce Vance said the Trump administration's wrongful deportation of a Maryland man to an El Salvador prison isn't a foreign policy issue, where the president has some "latitude," but a violation of due process.
"The fight we are about to have is whether or not the president can strip people — citizens or not — of fundamental constitutional rights," she said during an appearance on MSNBC Wednesday.
Vance said the Trump administration has unwittingly put a face on its mass deportation, which is that of a dad of three kids with special needs, and who his wife wants back home for Easter celebrations in their own household. "That I think is not what this administration anticipated," she said.
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Vance noted the judges made a decision that Kimal Abrego Garcia needed to remain in the U.S. because he was at risk of violence at the hands of gangs had he been returned to El Salvador. "The Trump administration has put all of this on display for the public," she said.
Referring to the disruption faced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) at a town hall in Acworth on Tuesday night, Vance said the public is learning that issues can be nuanced and that they need to be "smart" about the policies they endorse.
"And perhaps the ultimate check here is the political process where citizens begin to talk to their senators and others and say, let's pump the brakes a little bit," she added.
Several protesters were forcibly removed by police at a town hall meeting hosted by Greene. At least one of the protestors was tased.
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Ahead of the town hall, the Georgia Republican had warned attendees that any outbursts would not be tolerated. Shortly after the meeting began, a man began shouting while Greene was adjusting her microphone. As he was being escorted out by police, Greene and several of her supporters cheered.
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