Trump is winning on illegal immigration. But he needs to listen to the courts. | Opinion
Troubling signs have emerged indicating that President Donald Trump's team may prioritize what they think is the right thing to do over what the law says.
President Donald Trump is 100% right to take a tough stand on illegal immigration. It’s one of the major reasons he won in November.
Former President Joe Biden’s open-border policies created havoc for southern states and for cities all over the country. And some truly loathsome people have made their way into our country and deserve to be escorted out ASAP.
Polls show this is a winning issue for Trump, with 56% in a recent NBC News poll saying the president is bringing the right kind of change on immigration.
Other surveys have shown similar support among voters, which is Trump’s most popular issue at the moment. In fact, a poll this month from Echelon Insights found that immigration has dropped to the fourth most pressing issue for voters – down from the top issue a year ago.
That is almost certainly because of Trump’s fast action on curbing illegal immigration and securing the border.
However, Trump must not take his mandate from voters too far. He has to stay within the bounds of the law.
A recent dustup with a federal judge on deportations makes it seem like Trump is all too willing to blow off the courts if they get in his way.
Biden disregarded the courts. Trump shouldn't do the same.
That sounds an awful lot like Biden. Throughout his presidency, he ignored the courts – even the U.S. Supreme Court – time and again.
From his refusal to back off from clearly illegal student loan cancellation to keeping the country in a national emergency far longer than he should have, Biden flouted the law.
Trump must do better and respect the separation of powers.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration deported 261 illegal immigrants, flying them to El Salvador, which agreed to take them (for a price).
These are allegedly very bad guys, including Venezuelan gang members of Tren de Aragua and members of the MS-13 gang, who have committed a plethora of awful crimes.
I’m glad they aren’t here anymore.
Yet, Trump invoked a rarely used law – the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 – to justify the deportations without the need for due process.
James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, took issue with that. Boasberg, an Obama appointee, sought to stop the deportations, but the Trump administration claimed that the planes were already in the air and that it was too late.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a motion to postpone complying with Boasberg's request for more details about the deportation flights.
It’s possible Trump could win this legal fight, but he should have waited to find out before taking action.
Trump earns a rebuke from the chief justice of the United States
To make matters worse, Trump escalated the situation Tuesday by calling for Boasberg to be impeached. (Trump’s DOGE buddy and Tesla CEO Elon Musk had earlier called for the same, and so have others in MAGA world.)
Trump’s temper tantrum of a social media post led to a rare rebuke from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in a statement. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Of course, the chief justice is correct. And the Trump administration should back down before it looks even more foolish.
There are troubling signs, though, that Trump’s team may prioritize what they think is the right thing to do over what the law says.
“They’re not gonna stop us,” Trump immigration czar Tom Homan told Fox News on Monday. “We’re not stopping. I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care what the left thinks, we’re coming.”
That’s way too similar to Biden administration responses to its rebukes by the courts.
The country wants Trump to continue the fight against illegal immigration. But no president is above the law.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at Paste BN. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques