Trump's Trials - 'A slippery slope:' critics say deportations skirt due process all deserve

Episode Date: April 25, 2025

The Trump administration is moving quickly to arrest, detain and remove people from the country. But critics say such actions can violate the due process rights that all people in the U.S. deserve. NPR's Ximena Bustillo reports. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's Trump's Terms from NPR. I'm Scott Detro. We're going to be doing all sorts of things nobody ever thought was even possible. President Trump has brought back strength to the White House. We can't just ignore the president's desires. This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Each episode we bring you NPR's coverage of President Trump acting on his own terms. And that means sometimes doing things that no American president has tried before. NPR is covering it all in stories

like the one you are about to hear right after this. I'm Michelle Martin in Washington, D.C. I'm Ami Martinez in Los Angeles, California. President Trump is working hard to implement a campaign promise for mass deportations. Officials are moving quickly to arrest wasn't possible for all the people in the Sohima, now has the administration addressed what due process means for their mass deportation goals? Yes, earlier this week Trump said that it wasn't possible for all the people he wants to remove to get a trial.

And I hope we get cooperation from the courts because you know we have thousands of people that are ready to go out and you can't have a trial for all of these people. Vice President J.D. Vance went as far as to call it a, quote, fake legal process on social media. And in another post, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has said, quote, the judicial process is for Americans, immediate deportation is for illegal aliens. But critics broadly point to the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That states that no person can, quote, be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process

of law. The administration seems to be banking on Americans believing that non-citizens don't get the same due process as citizens. That's according to Muzaffar Chishti from the Migration Policy Institute. That may be politically a good slogan. Unfortunately, constitution does not make any distinction between citizens and non-citizens for the application of the protections of due process and judicial review.

The ultimate concern, he says, is that if you strip due process for one group, that's a slippery slope for others. So let's get into that, because let's assume that some people are good with the argument that due process rights are not owed to everyone. What's the argument then about why that's not just incorrect that it is a slippery slope for absolutely everyone? You know, put simply because mistakes are made. It's central to the Constitution that if the government makes any accusation, people accused have a chance to respond. Immigration courts were designed specifically as a neutral space where both the government and immigrants could both make their cases.

Not every person gets the same rights, though. It's a spectrum of rights, you know, the law experts tell me. It depends on how long you've been in the country and other factors. I spoke with Ashley Tabador. She's a former immigration judge, and she said the government can't just act on the basis of allegations. Government is not immune from making errors and errors that can cost someone's life. So what is at stake is oftentimes a life and death situation. Are there any examples of such errors already? You know, the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia brought the question of due process to the forefront.

In 2019, an immigration judge had decided that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but last month officials arrested him. Within days and by mistake, he was sent to a prison in El Salvador. Other lawyers fighting Trump's policies have alleged their clients didn't have deportation orders yet and were due in court and suddenly They ended up in other countries and lawyers have told me that they've defended US citizens or others with legal status Who got arrested or detained when they shouldn't have but Trump administration is making other changes, too They increased the number of people who can be removed without a court hearing and they've terminated contracts that provide legal services to over 20,000 minors without legal status. And they fired and accepted

resignations from over 100 court staff including dozens of judges. Critics warn that erodes those due process protections America was founded on. That's NPR's immigration policy reporter, Jimena Bustillo. Thanks a lot. Thank you. And before we wrap up, a thank you to our NPR Plus supporters who hear each show without sponsored messages and of course who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a

ton of podcast perks across dozens of NPR shows, like bonus episodes, exclusive merchandise, and more. Again, that's plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. Do you think you have ADHD? You're not alone. After the pandemic hit, there was a huge jump in ADHD diagnoses among adults.

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