President Trump signed an directive yesterday ending "catch and release", the procedure under which illegal aliens apprehended crossing the border were processed, given a court date and then released. Almost none of these illegals ever showed up for their court dates. As a result, the apprehension of the illegals was nothing more than a show after which they were free to live in the USA. The problem has always been that the government does not have the space to house all these illegals, so they were released. Trump's directive tells the Secretary of Defense to report back on which military bases, if any, can be used to detain the illegals. What all this means is that we will soon see a new batch of lawsuits.
Let's unpack this a bit. Around the country, there are old military bases that have housing that could be used for detention purposes. For example, there are old bases that housed thousands of soldiers which are no longer in use. These bases have barracks in varying conditions. They could certainly be upgraded so that they are usable in short order. The bases also have fences and guard posts around them which could work to keep the detainees in with a little bit of preparation. Imagine taking the next 50,000 illegals caught and putting them in detention at military bases. The USA would have to take care of these detainees until their court dates, but my guess is that a significant portion would decide that they no longer want to contest the matter in court and would agree to be repatriated to their home country. More important, word would soon spread in Central America and Mexico that a trip into the USA was possibly just one to life in a military camp followed by a trip back home. It should have a very chilling effect on ILLEGAL entry into the USA.
So why would there be a lawsuit? Without a doubt, the advocates for the illegals would rush into court claiming that this was wrongful detention and that the illegals must be released. The truth is that once they are brought into the USA, the illegals get rights. This may be limited if they are caught on the border, but they still have rights. One issue is whether or not these people would have the right to bail. In February, the Supreme Court faced that very issue and decided that those detained by ICE do not have the right to bond hearings no matter how long they have been held. Surely, the ACLU or some other group will come up with yet another attack on a system like this and will start the suit in some district in California where most of the judges are very liberal. It won't be hard to find a trial judge who finds the program unconstitutional (whether or not it really is). The Ninth Circuit will likely then affirm that ruling. Only when it gets to the Supreme Court will a real, non-political view be given. That process could take a while. In the interim, the catch and release program would probably be ordered to remain in place in one way or another.
Even if the road to stopping illegal entry into the USA includes the inevitable attack on the process by liberal political judges, it is still worth doing. Entry into the USA should be easy, but the laws have to be followed. It's about time.
Let's unpack this a bit. Around the country, there are old military bases that have housing that could be used for detention purposes. For example, there are old bases that housed thousands of soldiers which are no longer in use. These bases have barracks in varying conditions. They could certainly be upgraded so that they are usable in short order. The bases also have fences and guard posts around them which could work to keep the detainees in with a little bit of preparation. Imagine taking the next 50,000 illegals caught and putting them in detention at military bases. The USA would have to take care of these detainees until their court dates, but my guess is that a significant portion would decide that they no longer want to contest the matter in court and would agree to be repatriated to their home country. More important, word would soon spread in Central America and Mexico that a trip into the USA was possibly just one to life in a military camp followed by a trip back home. It should have a very chilling effect on ILLEGAL entry into the USA.
So why would there be a lawsuit? Without a doubt, the advocates for the illegals would rush into court claiming that this was wrongful detention and that the illegals must be released. The truth is that once they are brought into the USA, the illegals get rights. This may be limited if they are caught on the border, but they still have rights. One issue is whether or not these people would have the right to bail. In February, the Supreme Court faced that very issue and decided that those detained by ICE do not have the right to bond hearings no matter how long they have been held. Surely, the ACLU or some other group will come up with yet another attack on a system like this and will start the suit in some district in California where most of the judges are very liberal. It won't be hard to find a trial judge who finds the program unconstitutional (whether or not it really is). The Ninth Circuit will likely then affirm that ruling. Only when it gets to the Supreme Court will a real, non-political view be given. That process could take a while. In the interim, the catch and release program would probably be ordered to remain in place in one way or another.
Even if the road to stopping illegal entry into the USA includes the inevitable attack on the process by liberal political judges, it is still worth doing. Entry into the USA should be easy, but the laws have to be followed. It's about time.
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