I am a Jewish woman who is very concerned about the latest ruling on Mahmoud Khalil.
Today I read that an immigration judge ruled to deport Mahmoud Khalil. This was based on a memo sent by Marco Rubio which stated:
“ He said that while Khalil's activities were “otherwise lawful,” letting him remain in the country would undermine “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”
As a Jewish American, whose father left high school to fight racism, I was wondering why the American Nazi organizations are not subject to the same ruling. On a daily basis, they are fighting to rid our country of all Jews. If that’s not antisemitism, I totally give up.
If Mahmoud is being deported based on antisemitism, can’t we do the same to the leaders of the multiple organizations who are doing the same thing.
But we are supposed to defend Khalil's most basic human right of free speech. Moreover, there is not a shred of anti semitism in his stand - defending the right of Palestinians is surely not anti semitism. If anything, it is in accord with most fundamental Jewish values of solidarity and compassion,
Believe me, I share your concerns, but do not for a second believe that DJT or anyone in his so-called cabinet is in the least interested in fighting anti-semitism. The anti-semitism argument is simply a ruse to drum up support among some Jewish people and others for taking authoritarian actions. After reading quotes from the opinion of the LA immigration judge (appointed by Trump), I believe that Rubio's statement about fighting anti-semitism is secondary to his statement that Khalil should be deported under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act on the grounds that Khalil could harm U.S. foreign policy interests. The judge bought Rubio's "harm to foreign policy" assertion hook, line and sinker. It is all nonsense, of course, because Khalil was simply exercising his (and, for now at least, our) First Amendment rights. The Trump regime has presented no evidence whatsoever that Khalil is anti-semitic, or in what respect he might present a dangerous risk to our foreign policy interests or really anything at all of substance. And despite the fact that DJT campaigned on one of his many lies of ridding the country of criminal illegal immigrants, this regime is going after all of us. Khalil is not an illegal immigrant (he had an illegally revoked green card) and he has not been charged with any crimes. All of us are in deep trouble.
If Americans are relying on one man to save them, then we are fools. Russians keep waiting for their savior - Alexei Navalny couldn't do it, and he was known and beloved throughout that country.
Timothy Snyder has as much right to move for a job as the rest of us do. He is not running away. He's continuing to write.
The people actually running away are Congressional Republicans and their funders and allied oligarchs who know better and betray the rest of us daily by their cynical embrace of Trump and Musk and Project 2025. Others running away from their responsibility to defend America's rule of law are those Democrats trying to make nice w/ the regime by voting for incompetent, corrupt Trump nominees and for some of his policies.
Timothy Snyder gave us a blueprint for success. It’s up to us to quit wasting time and energy feuding amongst ourselves and put our strength into carrying it out.
And why are we focusing so much on Timothy Snyder? It's not like he renounced what he has written, or offered to write books endorsing Trump's favorite causes . . . One assumes he will continue to speak out. Anyway, isn't Canada going to become the 51st state?
NONE of these people, all of whom are in real danger, are moving to Canada. None of them are physically running away the way Timothy Snyder and Marci Shore are. Moreover, Snyder and Shore are not on the list. Norm Eisen and Andrew Weissmann are on the list. They are staying in the US despite being in actual danger, which Timothy Snyder is not.
No, he's not "running away to Canada." He's got a good job offer there. Why do you think he's "obeying in advance" when he's done far more to advance democracy than most of us?
I live in Arizona, in an over 55 community. The Canadian snowbirds are listing their winter homes for sale...it will drive down the value of homes for the rest of us. So many unintended consequences....or may not unintended. Even my Canadian friends with dual citizenship are fleeing.
If there was a way for the home values of MAGA voters only to plummet in both Arizona and Florida due to the flight of the snowbirds, it would so be worth it. The only thing that will make these people dump Trump is financial pain, and lots of it. Lose money on your house, lose your retirement savings, double the price of everything at Walmart, no more Medicaid, reduced Social Security. Then maybe impeachment and conviction. One can only hope.
Perhaps. But when someone bases their entire career and reputation on being courageous, not obeying in advance, and standing out, fleeing to Canada makes Snyder look more like a draft dodger than a hero. Norm Eisen, here at The Contrarian, is an actual target of the Trump administration, being actively pursued. Snyder hasn’t gotten any flack whatsoever except for a snarky comment on X from JD Vance (who said Snyder was an “embarrassment” for Yale). But his wife Marci Shore decides she doesn’t want to stick around, so off they go to the U of Toronto. Shameful.
George Packer’s takedown of Snyder in The Atlantic, “Be a Patriot”, 4/19/25
You are so right.....this is the crucial time....who will stay and who will go. I always wondered about De Gaulle fleeing France and he remained a hero..... Do we need an Off shore government entity? We do need to start planning the future of a new and improved Democracy. We need to do this to shore us up during these bitter times. Come back, Timothy....try again.
Ann P is evidently on a tear against Timothy Snyder, for reasons I don't understand. I've been reading Snyder for years. He's taught me a lot about Ukraine, which he knows well. Would you explain why you agree with her?
Yes, I thought about De Gaulle as I’ve been writing about this the past two days. Personally, I view De Gaulle as a coward too, and why the French lauded him when he only returned to France after the Americans drove the Germans out is something only the French can explain. To this day, I think the French are secretly embarrassed that they couldn’t save themselves. Everyone’s grandparents were in the Resistance, even if it’s not true. Even if it’s true that the U of Toronto has been after Snyder and Shore for years, the fact remains that they didn’t decide to take the job offer until after they knew Trump had won the election. Marci Shore says this in every interview she gives. She is constantly contradicting what Snyder says. And then they don’t announce this decision until a couple of weeks ago. When I think of what people like Norm Eisen and Andrew Weissmann are going through, not to mention dozens of other people who are actively being threatened with lawsuits, investigations, being stripped of their security clearances, some being stripped of their security details even though they have Iranian death squads after them, this move by a couple of Yale professors strikes me as the height of cowardice. It goes against everything I thought Timothy Snyder stood for. His credibility is shot, as far as I’m concerned.
Timothy Snyder has been in Ukraine when bombs were falling. Have you got a grudge against him or what? Your profile doesn't say much about your background. Asking for some friends . . .
I’ve already explained this to you, so I guess you didn’t read it or maybe you didn’t understand it. And fwiw, I have watched YouTube videos of Snyder giving talks in Ukraine, kept up with his very frequent trips to Ukraine, and I’ve donated $$ to most of the Ukraine charities that he has endorsed, ore than once. SO, to repeat myself (I won’t do it again, so read carefully):
“ Fwiw, Snyder has taught me a lot about Ukraine too. I’ve read all his books, and took his online Yale course on the history of Ukraine in the Fall 2022 semester. Up until this recent development, I admired him tremendously, and have used him in arguments with people who take a pro-Russia view of Ukraine. I’ve read On Tyranny more than once. That is precisely why I am so disappointed about this obvious cut-and-run he is doing. It may well be that his wife forced him into it, but it still hurts that he cannot live up to his own standards of courage that he espouses in On Tyranny. You can view that however you wish.”
Marco Rubio's comments are especially disturbing. If they can take away Khalil's first amendment rights, then they can take away yours and mine. If they can round up innocent people and deport them anywhere, who is safe?
When Mr Garcia is found dead, will that miserable, cruel and vicious shell of a man sitting in the Oval Office (when not playing golf) be accused of murder?
This has been my worry all along. Just off him and then he can't be returned. I would hope that would explode here at home...but the longer they draw it out the more people forget.
I am terrified about the eventual outcome of this horrendous miscarriage of justice. There are no words to express my embarrassment about what my former country has become.
No, his magats will still celebrate him as their savior to their last breath. It's like Georgetown, only the orange felon will make them pay for the kool aid (as someone else said in these comments).
I mean the first rule of leadership is the buck stops with you....then again, his MO is to pass the buck on any level of responsibility. He has always been a shell of a man inside a crying three year olds brain....
Lawyers congratulating other lawyers on lawsuits filed, lawsuits pending, decisions in their favor.
I don't want to take anything from this, but I have yet to see ONE single instance where these foul people REVERSED a decision, RETURNED someone rounded up off the streets, PAID BACK people who were brutalized, STOPPED their illegal destruction of USAID, of Social Security (on-going), UNDID their countless violations of law and procedure, common sense, human decency, simple morality, unconstitutional illegalities. NOT ONE.
What do we do when courts find Pam Bondi, and Maybelline JD and their idiot emperor boss in contempt? Republicans won't impeach him, and Pam Bondi controls the US Marshal's service that enforces all court judgments. There are no bailiffs out there to arrest the Attorney General. What do we do then?
The article doesn't attribute cause to this action other than quoting an ICE statement, however, there is conventional wisdom that massive local protests around the case were a significant factor.
The claim that the Abrego-Garcia SCOTUS decision was some sort of "win" is just a wildly over-positive spin of what it really means. It basically affirms that it's okay for a judge to tell Trump that he should "try" to get the detained prisoner (who may already be dead) back. Wow, what a big deal. Like Trump doesn't know he can just ignore that. "Yeah, we tried. Whatever"
I'm surprised at the statement that 'courts cannot mandate an outcome'. Courts sentence convicted criminals to a jail term or community service, etc. That's mandating an outcome. They make all kinds of orders that must be obeyed or contempt charges follow. That's mandating an outcome. You will do this or this will happen. Please explain your assertion.
Wow, this just drips wishful thinking from beginning to end.
My own read of the SC rulings is that they are slow rolling the current cases so that the Trump regime gets a pass via fait accompli, while leaving enough in place to prevent the damage from being repaired by a future administration.
I don't see a good outcome for any of this at the moment.
I'm going to quote the MoveOn newsletter take for comparison. They're more hopeful than I am at the moment.
---
Dear MoveOn member,
We're increasingly living in a lawless country. The MAGA Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a series of outrageous wins last week that make one thing crystal clear: The courts are not going to save us.
The most dangerous of these rulings came on Monday, when the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, essentially greenlit the Trump administration's mass deportation of Venezuelan migrants—the vast majority of whom had no criminal record whatsoever—to a notoriously horrific prison in El Salvador. [1]
The implications are dire for all of us—not only immigrants. As The New York Times wrote, "If government officials can say anything, true or not, to justify their actions—as they did with the Venezuelan migrants—what stops them from doing that to an American citizen? If they never have to prove someone is actually who they say he is, they can claim anything and act with impunity against anyone." [2]
On Tuesday, Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told the media that the Trump administration is considering deporting American citizens to El Salvador. [3]
But there is hope, Kristopher. And that hope lies with us. It lies with the 3 million people who took to the streets last Saturday to fight back.
1. "Extra: The Supreme Court Just Gave The Trump Administration Everything It Wanted—Almost," Slate, April 8, 2025
I appreciate all that you are doing with The Contrarian and that you are working hard to point out what the Trump administration is doing to deny our rights. I fear that you are not paying enough attention to the gutting of the organizations that back up the detailed history of our country. If Musk and Trump manage to continue removing data from SSA, IRS, NOAA, and on and on, they are doing what the Nazis did in the 1930's and 1940's. Book burning will not be far behind. With Musk and his helpers having access and then control of our accurate data, we will be at the mercy of whatever data is left to prove what the laws were, who owned what and which processes and policies kept our government running for everyone. The bureaucracy is what allows the myths that MAGA is telling to be disproven in the future. You must get rid of Musk before it's too late. Just read Yuval Noah Harari's book Nexus to see what is happening.
There exists another problem with the courts and their cases: They have no enforcing power, and can file decisions interminably, and Trump and his administration are already experts at either filing appeals or outright ignoring court orders.
No help will come from the Department of Justice, as Pammie has forgotten the duty to uphold the law and the Constitution and to, instead, act as Trump's attack dog for revenge and retribution at his whim. Congress has been decidedly unhelpful as it's apparent that they forgot that they aren't there to rubber-stamp everything that the orange oaf wants. The best that we can hope for is to wear them out and slow them all down with litigation.
Dear Contrarian. Sorry to say this but your post sounds a little too much like a George Bush Iraq War Aircraft Carrier victory moment to me. I’ve said it before. Give an Autocrat an Inch and They’ll Take a Mile. If Trump et al. really want to end our democracy all they have to do is pay lip service to the Supreme Court and then quietly ignore them. Exactly who is going to physically remove him and/or JDVance from the White House when they simply ignore the election results in 2028? These current court battles must be fought, but in the long run winning today may not matter.
Allina Halliba, New Jersey, and Gov Phil Murphy. Please find the time to shine your light on Allina Halliba's decision to torture Phil Murphy. It goes to prove the case that Trump is politicizing the DOJ for his own vengeance seeking ends. And Halliba, Bondi, Bove, and Blanche are totally down with it.
I am a Jewish woman who is very concerned about the latest ruling on Mahmoud Khalil.
Today I read that an immigration judge ruled to deport Mahmoud Khalil. This was based on a memo sent by Marco Rubio which stated:
“ He said that while Khalil's activities were “otherwise lawful,” letting him remain in the country would undermine “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”
As a Jewish American, whose father left high school to fight racism, I was wondering why the American Nazi organizations are not subject to the same ruling. On a daily basis, they are fighting to rid our country of all Jews. If that’s not antisemitism, I totally give up.
If Mahmoud is being deported based on antisemitism, can’t we do the same to the leaders of the multiple organizations who are doing the same thing.
PLEASE ASSIST!
But we are supposed to defend Khalil's most basic human right of free speech. Moreover, there is not a shred of anti semitism in his stand - defending the right of Palestinians is surely not anti semitism. If anything, it is in accord with most fundamental Jewish values of solidarity and compassion,
You have to see the transcript to see what was actually presented. May win on appeal, but have to present probative evidence.
I agree. We have several Jewish friends and they do not see him as antisemitic.
Believe me, I share your concerns, but do not for a second believe that DJT or anyone in his so-called cabinet is in the least interested in fighting anti-semitism. The anti-semitism argument is simply a ruse to drum up support among some Jewish people and others for taking authoritarian actions. After reading quotes from the opinion of the LA immigration judge (appointed by Trump), I believe that Rubio's statement about fighting anti-semitism is secondary to his statement that Khalil should be deported under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act on the grounds that Khalil could harm U.S. foreign policy interests. The judge bought Rubio's "harm to foreign policy" assertion hook, line and sinker. It is all nonsense, of course, because Khalil was simply exercising his (and, for now at least, our) First Amendment rights. The Trump regime has presented no evidence whatsoever that Khalil is anti-semitic, or in what respect he might present a dangerous risk to our foreign policy interests or really anything at all of substance. And despite the fact that DJT campaigned on one of his many lies of ridding the country of criminal illegal immigrants, this regime is going after all of us. Khalil is not an illegal immigrant (he had an illegally revoked green card) and he has not been charged with any crimes. All of us are in deep trouble.
Betty, if you haven’t seen Timothy Snyder’s 8-min video today on Substack, I highly recommend it. Maddening, but very moving.
Timothy Snyder is running away to Canada, obeying in advance. That is also maddening.
If Americans are relying on one man to save them, then we are fools. Russians keep waiting for their savior - Alexei Navalny couldn't do it, and he was known and beloved throughout that country.
Timothy Snyder has as much right to move for a job as the rest of us do. He is not running away. He's continuing to write.
The people actually running away are Congressional Republicans and their funders and allied oligarchs who know better and betray the rest of us daily by their cynical embrace of Trump and Musk and Project 2025. Others running away from their responsibility to defend America's rule of law are those Democrats trying to make nice w/ the regime by voting for incompetent, corrupt Trump nominees and for some of his policies.
Timothy Snyder gave us a blueprint for success. It’s up to us to quit wasting time and energy feuding amongst ourselves and put our strength into carrying it out.
Now here are the brave professors (NYT gift link):
“Harvard Professors Sue Trump Administration Over Threat to Cut Funding”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/us/politics/harvard-professors-trump-lawsuit-funding.html?unlocked_article_code=1._E4.aH1N.KDTe0OdjnpIr&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
And why are we focusing so much on Timothy Snyder? It's not like he renounced what he has written, or offered to write books endorsing Trump's favorite causes . . . One assumes he will continue to speak out. Anyway, isn't Canada going to become the 51st state?
Recent NYT article, gift link:
“ List: Who Trump Has Targeted for Retribution”, 4/7/25
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/07/us/trump-revenge-list.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-04.y2La.bYxXZoI8u_j6&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
NONE of these people, all of whom are in real danger, are moving to Canada. None of them are physically running away the way Timothy Snyder and Marci Shore are. Moreover, Snyder and Shore are not on the list. Norm Eisen and Andrew Weissmann are on the list. They are staying in the US despite being in actual danger, which Timothy Snyder is not.
No, he's not "running away to Canada." He's got a good job offer there. Why do you think he's "obeying in advance" when he's done far more to advance democracy than most of us?
Obeying in advance? I think not.
I'm sure many have their tickets for Canada.....alas
I live in Arizona, in an over 55 community. The Canadian snowbirds are listing their winter homes for sale...it will drive down the value of homes for the rest of us. So many unintended consequences....or may not unintended. Even my Canadian friends with dual citizenship are fleeing.
If there was a way for the home values of MAGA voters only to plummet in both Arizona and Florida due to the flight of the snowbirds, it would so be worth it. The only thing that will make these people dump Trump is financial pain, and lots of it. Lose money on your house, lose your retirement savings, double the price of everything at Walmart, no more Medicaid, reduced Social Security. Then maybe impeachment and conviction. One can only hope.
Perhaps. But when someone bases their entire career and reputation on being courageous, not obeying in advance, and standing out, fleeing to Canada makes Snyder look more like a draft dodger than a hero. Norm Eisen, here at The Contrarian, is an actual target of the Trump administration, being actively pursued. Snyder hasn’t gotten any flack whatsoever except for a snarky comment on X from JD Vance (who said Snyder was an “embarrassment” for Yale). But his wife Marci Shore decides she doesn’t want to stick around, so off they go to the U of Toronto. Shameful.
George Packer’s takedown of Snyder in The Atlantic, “Be a Patriot”, 4/19/25
https://apple.news/AZgfBnvkmQaC73kWJfolMVA
You are so right.....this is the crucial time....who will stay and who will go. I always wondered about De Gaulle fleeing France and he remained a hero..... Do we need an Off shore government entity? We do need to start planning the future of a new and improved Democracy. We need to do this to shore us up during these bitter times. Come back, Timothy....try again.
Ann P is evidently on a tear against Timothy Snyder, for reasons I don't understand. I've been reading Snyder for years. He's taught me a lot about Ukraine, which he knows well. Would you explain why you agree with her?
Yes, I thought about De Gaulle as I’ve been writing about this the past two days. Personally, I view De Gaulle as a coward too, and why the French lauded him when he only returned to France after the Americans drove the Germans out is something only the French can explain. To this day, I think the French are secretly embarrassed that they couldn’t save themselves. Everyone’s grandparents were in the Resistance, even if it’s not true. Even if it’s true that the U of Toronto has been after Snyder and Shore for years, the fact remains that they didn’t decide to take the job offer until after they knew Trump had won the election. Marci Shore says this in every interview she gives. She is constantly contradicting what Snyder says. And then they don’t announce this decision until a couple of weeks ago. When I think of what people like Norm Eisen and Andrew Weissmann are going through, not to mention dozens of other people who are actively being threatened with lawsuits, investigations, being stripped of their security clearances, some being stripped of their security details even though they have Iranian death squads after them, this move by a couple of Yale professors strikes me as the height of cowardice. It goes against everything I thought Timothy Snyder stood for. His credibility is shot, as far as I’m concerned.
Timothy Snyder has been in Ukraine when bombs were falling. Have you got a grudge against him or what? Your profile doesn't say much about your background. Asking for some friends . . .
I’ve already explained this to you, so I guess you didn’t read it or maybe you didn’t understand it. And fwiw, I have watched YouTube videos of Snyder giving talks in Ukraine, kept up with his very frequent trips to Ukraine, and I’ve donated $$ to most of the Ukraine charities that he has endorsed, ore than once. SO, to repeat myself (I won’t do it again, so read carefully):
“ Fwiw, Snyder has taught me a lot about Ukraine too. I’ve read all his books, and took his online Yale course on the history of Ukraine in the Fall 2022 semester. Up until this recent development, I admired him tremendously, and have used him in arguments with people who take a pro-Russia view of Ukraine. I’ve read On Tyranny more than once. That is precisely why I am so disappointed about this obvious cut-and-run he is doing. It may well be that his wife forced him into it, but it still hurts that he cannot live up to his own standards of courage that he espouses in On Tyranny. You can view that however you wish.”
Boy do I hear you.
What a wonderful astute comment. Thank you! How can we make that happen, perhaps get citizens to rally!!!? From Alice Sage
Marco Rubio's comments are especially disturbing. If they can take away Khalil's first amendment rights, then they can take away yours and mine. If they can round up innocent people and deport them anywhere, who is safe?
This is everyone's issue.
When Mr Garcia is found dead, will that miserable, cruel and vicious shell of a man sitting in the Oval Office (when not playing golf) be accused of murder?
This has been my worry all along. Just off him and then he can't be returned. I would hope that would explode here at home...but the longer they draw it out the more people forget.
I am terrified about the eventual outcome of this horrendous miscarriage of justice. There are no words to express my embarrassment about what my former country has become.
No. The gutless GOP stays silent.
He’s back w the gangs he informed on in that prison - the reason he sought asylum.. I would bet he’s dead. : (
No, his magats will still celebrate him as their savior to their last breath. It's like Georgetown, only the orange felon will make them pay for the kool aid (as someone else said in these comments).
I mean the first rule of leadership is the buck stops with you....then again, his MO is to pass the buck on any level of responsibility. He has always been a shell of a man inside a crying three year olds brain....
Both sickening and frightening
Lawyers congratulating other lawyers on lawsuits filed, lawsuits pending, decisions in their favor.
I don't want to take anything from this, but I have yet to see ONE single instance where these foul people REVERSED a decision, RETURNED someone rounded up off the streets, PAID BACK people who were brutalized, STOPPED their illegal destruction of USAID, of Social Security (on-going), UNDID their countless violations of law and procedure, common sense, human decency, simple morality, unconstitutional illegalities. NOT ONE.
What do we do when courts find Pam Bondi, and Maybelline JD and their idiot emperor boss in contempt? Republicans won't impeach him, and Pam Bondi controls the US Marshal's service that enforces all court judgments. There are no bailiffs out there to arrest the Attorney General. What do we do then?
There is a case of an ICE detainee being returned: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mom-children-detained-immigration-new-york-returned/
The article doesn't attribute cause to this action other than quoting an ICE statement, however, there is conventional wisdom that massive local protests around the case were a significant factor.
Great work, Norm! “Big Ups!” To you! ALL of us give you Big Thanks!
“Beginning of the End of Trump”? If only it were so. Can’t wait till we really get to the end…..it will be a Wonderful occurrence for all of us!
The claim that the Abrego-Garcia SCOTUS decision was some sort of "win" is just a wildly over-positive spin of what it really means. It basically affirms that it's okay for a judge to tell Trump that he should "try" to get the detained prisoner (who may already be dead) back. Wow, what a big deal. Like Trump doesn't know he can just ignore that. "Yeah, we tried. Whatever"
I'm surprised at the statement that 'courts cannot mandate an outcome'. Courts sentence convicted criminals to a jail term or community service, etc. That's mandating an outcome. They make all kinds of orders that must be obeyed or contempt charges follow. That's mandating an outcome. You will do this or this will happen. Please explain your assertion.
PINO ignores it and Congress backs him up.
Your optimism about Trump is misplaced.
Agree fully - and this optimism is truly worrisome.
Thank you for your honest statement
Wow, this just drips wishful thinking from beginning to end.
My own read of the SC rulings is that they are slow rolling the current cases so that the Trump regime gets a pass via fait accompli, while leaving enough in place to prevent the damage from being repaired by a future administration.
I don't see a good outcome for any of this at the moment.
I'm going to quote the MoveOn newsletter take for comparison. They're more hopeful than I am at the moment.
---
Dear MoveOn member,
We're increasingly living in a lawless country. The MAGA Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a series of outrageous wins last week that make one thing crystal clear: The courts are not going to save us.
The most dangerous of these rulings came on Monday, when the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, essentially greenlit the Trump administration's mass deportation of Venezuelan migrants—the vast majority of whom had no criminal record whatsoever—to a notoriously horrific prison in El Salvador. [1]
The implications are dire for all of us—not only immigrants. As The New York Times wrote, "If government officials can say anything, true or not, to justify their actions—as they did with the Venezuelan migrants—what stops them from doing that to an American citizen? If they never have to prove someone is actually who they say he is, they can claim anything and act with impunity against anyone." [2]
On Tuesday, Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told the media that the Trump administration is considering deporting American citizens to El Salvador. [3]
But there is hope, Kristopher. And that hope lies with us. It lies with the 3 million people who took to the streets last Saturday to fight back.
1. "Extra: The Supreme Court Just Gave The Trump Administration Everything It Wanted—Almost," Slate, April 8, 2025
https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2025/04/scotus-decided-to-ignore-the-giant-flashing-red-light-in-the-venezuelan-migrant-case
2. "What Rights Do Migrants Have?" The New York Times, April 9, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/briefing/immigration-due-process-donald-trump.html
3. Post by Call to Activism, X, April 8, 2025
https://x.com/calltoactivism/status/1909665581869285507
I appreciate all that you are doing with The Contrarian and that you are working hard to point out what the Trump administration is doing to deny our rights. I fear that you are not paying enough attention to the gutting of the organizations that back up the detailed history of our country. If Musk and Trump manage to continue removing data from SSA, IRS, NOAA, and on and on, they are doing what the Nazis did in the 1930's and 1940's. Book burning will not be far behind. With Musk and his helpers having access and then control of our accurate data, we will be at the mercy of whatever data is left to prove what the laws were, who owned what and which processes and policies kept our government running for everyone. The bureaucracy is what allows the myths that MAGA is telling to be disproven in the future. You must get rid of Musk before it's too late. Just read Yuval Noah Harari's book Nexus to see what is happening.
There exists another problem with the courts and their cases: They have no enforcing power, and can file decisions interminably, and Trump and his administration are already experts at either filing appeals or outright ignoring court orders.
No help will come from the Department of Justice, as Pammie has forgotten the duty to uphold the law and the Constitution and to, instead, act as Trump's attack dog for revenge and retribution at his whim. Congress has been decidedly unhelpful as it's apparent that they forgot that they aren't there to rubber-stamp everything that the orange oaf wants. The best that we can hope for is to wear them out and slow them all down with litigation.
Alternatively, we can field an ad hoc army of citizens to enforce legal rulings.
Yes, this borders on civil war. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I am extremely worried that it will.
Let's work toward other solutions.
Dear Contrarian. Sorry to say this but your post sounds a little too much like a George Bush Iraq War Aircraft Carrier victory moment to me. I’ve said it before. Give an Autocrat an Inch and They’ll Take a Mile. If Trump et al. really want to end our democracy all they have to do is pay lip service to the Supreme Court and then quietly ignore them. Exactly who is going to physically remove him and/or JDVance from the White House when they simply ignore the election results in 2028? These current court battles must be fought, but in the long run winning today may not matter.
Norm, I appreciate your optimism. Wish I could share it. This is a helpful piece. Thanks.
I prefer “TYRANT” to “autocrat” and “tyrannical” to “autocratically”.
THANK YOU for the headline alone. Some of the headlines that want to frighten and scare us
are not helpful or healing at this time...and I need both. So again thank you for your POV.
That moron in the Whitehouse can get hostages out of Russia, Iran, Syria etc....but he can't get this guy out of Venezuela???? Give me a break.
Allina Halliba, New Jersey, and Gov Phil Murphy. Please find the time to shine your light on Allina Halliba's decision to torture Phil Murphy. It goes to prove the case that Trump is politicizing the DOJ for his own vengeance seeking ends. And Halliba, Bondi, Bove, and Blanche are totally down with it.