Illinois lawyer says Kilmar Obrego Garcia case is a ‘constitutional crisis’
"The idea that the U.S. government is absolutely flouting our constitutional right to due process is terrifying, ..."
by Judith Ruiz-Branch Illinois News Connection
CHICAGO - An Illinois law professor is weighing in on what she called a "very public and open test of due process" for immigrants being deported from the United States without court hearings.
On Wednesday, a U.S. district judge denied the Justice Department's request to further delay the wrongful deportation case of a Maryland man, Kilmar Obrego Garcia, who was sent to a prison in El Salvador. Both a U.S. District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" his return.
Victoria Carmona, clinical professor of immigration law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, said regardless of citizenship status, the lack of due process for one person is a crisis for everyone.
"The idea that the U.S. government is absolutely flouting our constitutional right to due process is terrifying, because if they're going to do it for one person, this is the test case," Carmona explained. "This is to see what can the government get away with and start pushing the odometer further and further away from due process. And it should be scary to everyone."
The government now has until May 5 to report any efforts it is making to comply with the court orders. In the meantime, Gov. JB Pritzker said Illinois is looking into ways to cut any state financial ties to Salvadoran companies in protest of that government's imprisonment of hundreds of deportees taken from the U.S. without court hearings.
Obrego Garcia already had a set of protections which said he could not return to his native country of El Salvador for fear of government persecution. The Justice Department said deporting him was an administrative error, although the Trump administration insists he is affiliated with a gang.
Carmona pointed out both countries' leaders are making the case more difficult to resolve.
"From El Salvador's perspective, I'm sure they're upset because their citizen had essentially claimed protections and saying that the El Salvadoran government would harm him if he returned," Carmona observed. "But this idea that the U.S. has no position to facilitate his return is an absolute lie."
Whatever happens to Obrego Garcia, Carmona added the unprecedented nature of the executive branch ignoring judicial orders has set the U.S. up for a constitutional crisis.
"At this point, I think Congress should be looking at impeachment," Carmona contended. "If Trump is going to clearly violate the Supreme Court orders, the resolution is impeachment."
Illustrious - Showcases and the stories behind Illinois’ most iconic high school gyms
CHICAGO - On a quiet Saturday afternoon in January 2012, at the Oak Park-River Forest field house, a simple thought refused to leave Vincent Johnson alone.
Covering a girls basketball game for the Oak Leaves, Johnson found himself looking beyond the box score and into the bones of the building itself. The space was overwhelming in the best way. Big. Empty. Striking. The field house - massive, architectural, overwhelming in character - was alive with echoes. The gym itself demanded his attention.
How good is your next steak? Look closely at the marbling
By Casey Cartwright
A premium steak makes an impression before it even reaches the grill. Fine streaks of fat run through the muscle, creating the visual pattern known as marbling. Those delicate flecks do much more than make a steak look appealing. They influence flavor and tenderness and affect how the beef performs over high heat.
Marbling plays a major role in the experience people expect from premium beef, but understanding it takes more than looking for the fattiest steak in the case. The amount and distribution of intramuscular ...
by Judith Ruiz-Branch
