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Trump’s Lawless Rendition [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-03-22

What we witnessed on Sunday, March 16, 2025, was nothing short of barbaric. Some 260 men—mostly adults, possibly some minors—were rounded up like cattle, stripped of their humanity, and forced onto three airplanes. They were flown to El Salvador, a third-world country under the rule of an authoritarian leader, and taken to the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) mega-prison in Tecoluca, America’s new gulag. Their heads were shaven, their hands shackled, and they were forced to kneel in submission. There is no doubt they will endure cruel and unusual punishment, despite the protections of the Eighth Amendment.

Though these men have been labeled stateless, they remain America’s responsibility, as the U.S. is directly funding their imprisonment. That means they still have rights—rights that have been utterly ignored.

But who are they? No one knows, because they were denied due process. We certainly cannot take Trump’s word in this, a man who lies as often as he breathes. As more information comes out, it is clear that many have committed no crimes. For punishment of this magnitude, they should have undergone a rigorous judicial review. Instead, they were arbitrarily processed under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—a law that holds no legal standing in this case, because the U.S. is neither at war with Venezuela nor facing an invasion. If we were, Trump would already be violating the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners.

What Trump has done is a modern-day rendition, a practice of covertly sending foreign individuals to countries with little regard for human rights. You may have missed it under President George W. Bush, when it was done in secret. Trump, however, has done it in full public view—because for him, cruelty is always the point. And yet, it is not even clear that everyone sent to Cecot has committed a crime.

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro called the act a kidnapping, and that is precisely what it was. If Trump intended to deport them, he could have sent them to Venezuela. Instead, he imprisoned them without trial, defying both U.S. and international law. And now, Trump is stonewalling a federal judge’s order to bring the detainees back—even though the ruling came while the planes were still in the air. Rather than comply, Trump brazenly ignored the court and is now calling for the judge’s impeachment.

But an impeachment is in order—his. This flagrant violation of the Constitution, due process, and human rights cannot be ignored. If America stands for the rule of law, then these prisoners must be returned and given their day in court. If they are to be deported, it must be to Venezuela. Rendition must be prohibited and ALL deportees must receive due process because America no longer trusts her government.

Time left to January 20, 2029: 1,400 days

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/22/2311863/-Trump-s-Lawless-Rendition?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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