Perryman: “It’s entirely what our Constitution requires in this country, which is what we have said from the beginning of this case: People cannot be removed without any process at all. And so you see a federal court continuing to require that process under the Constitution.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, Democracy Forward President & CEO Skye Perryman joined MSNBC’s Anna Cabrera Reports to discuss yesterday’s significant ruling won by Democracy Forward, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU-DC from Judge James Boasberg that held that the removal of over 130 Venezuelan men under the Alien Enemies Act on March 15 was unlawful and ordered the Trump-Vance administration to provide them access to their attorneys and habeas corpus relief.
In his ruling, the judge described what happened to our clients as Kafka-esque, noting “CECOT Plaintiffs never had any opportunity to challenge the Government’s say-so” before they were “spirited away,” and how since then “significant evidence has come to light indicating that many of those currently entombed in CECOT have no connection to the gang and thus languish in a foreign prison on flimsy, even frivolous accusations.”
Key Perryman Excerpts:
- On the broader impact of Judge Boasberg’s decision: “You’ve seen courts across this country, you’ve seen judges appointed by a range of presidents with a range of political viewpoints, you’ve all seen them affirm the notion that people in this country need process. But this is a very significant decision. We hope that it will improve the lives of people who, again, were removed without any process at all.”
- On the administration refusing to return wrongfully removed individuals: “The administration has been speaking out of both sides of its mouth. Sometimes you hear them talk about all the power that they have. Other times they throw their hands up and say they have no power. We, of course, have a lot of concerns about the legality, frankly, of how the administration is operating with respect to detaining people in El Salvador. Those are things that you will start, that you will see continued in the case. But it’s important to just focus on the fact that the courts across the country are seeing this for what it is. They are doing everything they can to ensure that people have access to process, and that’s really what our task is going to be over the coming days.”
- On the judge ordering the Trump-Vance administration to provide a plan: “This is an administration that removed people from the country without doing any diligence, providing any type of process. People need access to their lawyers. They need to be able to challenge their detention under habeas corpus, which is what of course, the what the court ruled yesterday. And it’s important to note that this ruling came out on the same day that the president banned travel from a range of countries and what has separated the United States from many nations, including countries like Iran, is our commitment to process. And so you see the court really seeking to enforce that here. And that’s, of course, what we will do every day in the courts alongside our friends at the ACLU.”
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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.