Trump Restores Due Process By Keeping It Secret
President Donald Trump has rescued one of America’s most endangered institutions: a secret deportation court that survived nearly three decades without inconveniencing a single immigrant. The Justice Department filed the first petition with the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a tribunal created by Congress in 1996 to deport noncitizens accused of terrorism but apparently misplaced behind several more fashionable approaches to executive power. An unnamed defendant, sealed evidence and a one-page filing represent a major modernization of due process, which has traditionally squandered government resources by telling people who they are, what they allegedly did and why federal officials would like to remove them from the country.
Chief Judge Joan Ericksen requested additional facts and legal analysis, preserving the obsolete judicial custom of asking the government to explain itself. Administration officials said the request could eventually be replaced by a large red stamp reading “VERY FOREIGN,” allowing judges to reach the same conclusion without exposure to distracting information. “This is a beautiful court, but nobody used it because previous presidents were afraid of winning,” Trump said. “We found it sitting there, totally empty, with perfect judges and tremendous secrecy, and now the American people finally have justice they’re not allowed to look at.”
The tribunal’s revival also advances Trump’s campaign to reduce government waste by activating an entire federal court for one mystery person. Officials described the process as more efficient than ordinary immigration proceedings, where defendants may encounter such reckless luxuries as identifiable allegations, visible evidence and enough information to contact an attorney. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the filing as proof that the Constitution remains fully operational whenever it is stored under seal. Critics argued that secret evidence makes accusations difficult to challenge, but the administration noted that challenges are what make courts slow, expensive and dangerously judicial. Additional cases are expected as soon as officials locate more forgotten statutes, unused hearing rooms and procedural safeguards awaiting removal, confirming that due process works best when nobody can see it happening.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.