The Way We Were

Barack Obama, the Deporter in Chief, was not concerned with due process when deporting illegal aliens.

Mark your calendar because I’m going to do something I do not recall ever doing.

I’m going to copy a direct quote from the American Communist Civil Liberties Union. In a 2014 post railing against the Great Deporter in Chief, Barack Obama, Sarah Mehta, Senior Policy Counsel for the ACLU wrote:

“Each year, over 363,279 – 83 percent – of deportations from the United States are ordered by immigration officers, not judges. Those deported in "summary removal" processes do not get a hearing or a chance to present evidence, or call a lawyer, or even say goodbye to their families before they are banished, sometimes for life.”

Get a load of that number - eighty three freaking percent deported without even a hearing.

So, the ACLU sued – not as much as they have sued Trump, but they sued. The outcomes of the key ACLU lawsuits against the Obama administration regarding due process in deportation proceedings, specifically J.E.F.M. v. Holder and M.S.P.C. v. Johnson, are as follows:

• J.E.F.M. v. Holder (2014): This lawsuit challenged the Obama administration’s failure to provide legal representation for thousands of children in deportation hearings, arguing it violated due process under the Fifth Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act. The case was dismissed in 2016 by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on jurisdictional grounds. The court ruled that the plaintiffs' claims were not properly before it because immigration courts, not federal district courts, have primary jurisdiction over deportation proceedings. The ACLU appealed, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal in 2017, stating that the plaintiffs needed to exhaust administrative remedies within the immigration court system before seeking federal court intervention. The case did not achieve its goal of mandating government-funded counsel for children, but it brought significant attention to the issue of unrepresented minors in immigration proceedings.

• M.S.P.C. v. Johnson (2014): This lawsuit targeted the Obama administration’s policies denying fair deportation processes to mothers and children fleeing violence in Central America, particularly those detained at the Artesia, New Mexico facility. The ACLU, along with other organizations, alleged violations of constitutional and statutory law due to rapid deportations with inadequate notice, restricted attorney access, and prejudged asylum claims. The case was voluntarily dismissed in December 2014 after the Artesia facility was closed, largely due to advocacy and litigation pressure from the ACLU and co-counsel. The dismissal came after the government began addressing some of the concerns, such as improving access to counsel and transferring detainees to less isolated facilities. While the lawsuit did not result in a court ruling, the closure of the Artesia facility and subsequent policy adjustments were seen as a practical victory for the plaintiffs, improving conditions for some detainees.

The interesting aspects of these lawsuits – other than no decisions were rendered – is that no gang members were involved and the conspicuous absences of any nationwide TROs or any District Judge ruling that all deportations must halt until all illegal aliens get a formal court hearing.

Obama continued the processes of rapid deportation until he exited the office in 2017, claiming the title of Deporter in Chief.

This was and is the process, folks.

Only now, it isn’t.

Solely because Trump is Literally Orange Hitler – and Democrats are feckless, shameless liars and hypocrites.

This is history, not my opinion. I’m taking this directly from the ACLU website here – as a matter of fact, there is some really good history of immigration issues and deportation on that site that is very informative about what was done then versus what Democrats hate now.

None of this is about precedent or even due process, this is all about finding a club with which to beat Literally Orange Hitler.