12 Honduran nationals seeking asylum, including six children, traveling with the caravan headed towards the US have filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump administration for violation of their constitutional rights.
The suit, which was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said it is widely known that Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are “undergoing a well-documented human rights crisis.” The lawsuit also claims that the plaintiffs’ right to the Administrative Procedures Act and the Declaratory Judgement Act were being infringed upon.
The lawsuit points to Trump’s claim that he will prevent the caravan from entering the U.S. It claims that the president cannot stop asylum-seekers by employing the military — when they have a fair claim. The suit criticized the president’s alleged attempt at stoking “fear and hysteria” by claiming that criminals and gang members have joined the caravan.
If one wants to know about the fear generated from this ordeal then they should ask the Mexican police- they have been pelted with countless with rocks, been shot at and had homemade bombs thrown at them.
The suit cited a Trump interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, where the president laid out plans to build tent cities to house migrants. The suit questioned the functionality of such a project, and asked if these living quarters would qualify under the Flores Agreement of 1997. The agreement protects asylum-seekers’ rights and limits how long minors can be held.
Earlier this summer, a federal judge in California rejected a request by the administration to modify Flores to allow for longer family detention. Administration officials say they have the authority to terminate the agreement, but that is likely to be tested in court.
The White House, Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security — which were all named as defendants — did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
What constitutional rights do undocumented immigrants in our country? What are their rights to have to a court hearing, an attorney or free speech? What rights do their children have to education inside our nation?
Even if you’re in the United States without permission or proper immigration documents, various sections of the U.S. Constitution apply to you. There is a particularly important provision of the Fourteenth Amendment stating that, “No state shall . . . deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
An undocumented immigrant is definitely a “person.” In brief, this means that you are owed such procedural rights as a jury trial and the right to defend yourself against the charges if arrested; and if someone sues you over a civil matter, that you have the right to receive notice and to defend yourself in court. Also see “Defense Against Removal,” below.
Various criminal charge-related amendments to the Constitution (including the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and 14th) also apply. These protect undocumented immigrants against unlawful search and seizure by law enforcement authorities (without probable cause and a warrant for such an action) and against self-incrimination.
Undocumented immigrants have the right to file lawsuits, such as discrimination suits, in federal court. State laws vary, but some jurisdictions give an undocumented immigrant the right to sue in state court, as well.
How those rights play out in actual practice is a more complex issue, however. Regarding the caravan, we are talking about several thousand people all demanding to enter our country at one time – all the while attacking the police while they break through the borders of the nations they are crossing. Furthermore, this group is being organized and funded by leftist groups that seek to undermine our border and our laws.
At what point do we stop calling someone just a ‘person’ and start calling them part of an invading force? The case here seems pretty clear.
Image: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
