Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen say they are willing to go to El Salvador to seek the release of a man who the Justice Department says it mistakenly deported there — a plan that has gained steam after the country’s president said during a visit to the White House that he would not send the man back to the U.S.

  • Thrillhouse@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    This is weird but can we trust that the kidnapped guy is even still alive? The admin is super evasive about it.

    • Coffee Addict@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      He may very well be dead. Regardless, I think we have to try; somebody’s father was literally sent to hell on earth without even being charged for a crime or seeing a judge. Trump has defiled this man’s “unalienable right” to due process. The fifth amendment to the constitution of the United States also specifies that this right belongs to each person and not citizen for this exact reason.

      This is probably the biggest constitutional crisis since the US Civil War. The foundations of the entire legal world sit upon established precedent, and Trump getting away with this would basically mean the Constitution and our laws are entirely up to the executive and therefore not worth the paper they’re printed on.

      We have no choice but to make this a complete PR disaster for Trump; Is he strong, or is he weak? If he is so strong, then why is a dictator of a tiny country able to tell him no? If Trump even had a shred of guilt or decency (he has neither) he would remind Bukele that a single aircraft carrier is all it would take to level everything he has.

      (Note: I am not saying we should launch a military invasion of El Salvador. I am merely pointing out how laughable it is that Trump says he can’t do anything. He is, as he has always been, a weak and pathetic man whose only extraordinary talent is lying without remorse.)

    • noride@lemm.ee
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      11 days ago

      At first I dismissed this idea as bullshit, but at this point, wouldn’t it be so much fucking easier to just bring him back? There has to be some reason they aren’t, and I sure don’t believe the “they don’t want to set a precedent” line floating around.

      • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        Idk for sure, just speculating, but I think they don’t care about the actual individual. It’s not about him.

        They’re asserting power, defying the supreme court. It’s that simple. This is authoritarianism. This is how it plays out.

        Again, speculation. They start with these types of acts, if they succeed their way, disobeying law gets normalized, and they can continue and do even worse.

        If I’m correct, checks and balances is falling, or has fallen. This is what authoritarianism looks like.

      • theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        wouldn’t it be so much fucking easier to just bring him back?

        There’s a reason he had fled to the US and was protected with asylum, and a reason that the US was not supposed to deport him back to El Salvador. He was probably dead as soon as he was sent back.

      • Thrillhouse@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        Yeah like wouldn’t it just be best (from their perspective) to get it out of the news cycle, come up with better legal bullshit, and continue the concentration camp deportations in a month or so?

        I mean they’re talking about revoking the citizenship of prisoners and trying to naturalize the land in El Salvador so they won’t have to answer to anyone because it will be considered “domestic” transfer. They could just bring him back and then ship him back when they do that.