Republicans are celebrating President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, while Democrats have denounced the Trump administration's legitimate process of breaching the country.
“We need a judge who doesn't require all illegal immigrants to be tried. We have millions of people who have come illegally. And we can't get tried for everyone. That's millions of people.”
Fox News Digital has called on Capitol Hill lawmakers to answer Trump's claim that illegal immigrants are not entitled to legitimate procedures.
“People come here and get a legal process called parole and have the right to justice,” said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. “We are a nation of law and we should not kick people abroad without that legitimate process.”
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From left, Senators including Rick Scott and R-Fla. James Lankford, D. Okra. And then D-Ariz. Mark Kelly responds to President Donald Trump's comments on the due process. (Fox News Digital)
According to the fifth amendment to the US Constitution, every “people” are entitled to a legitimate process. The scope of the legitimate process for deporting illegal immigrants is unfolding in court, but Kelly revealed his position when pushed by Fox News Digital.
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“I also abandon the little kids who are US citizens, it's wrong, it's dangerous. It certainly isn't fair to them or their parents, but it really affects everyone. So, I'm crazy to abandon the two-year-old who is US citizens,” Kelly said.
However, Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital were less sympathetic as they doubled their support for the Trump administration, which deported illegal immigrants.
A family of five claiming to be from Guatemala and a man who said he was walking through the desert after crossing the border wall of the Tucson border on the US-Mexican border at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Lukeville, Arizona on August 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt York)
“No one should come to the country illegally,” said R-Fla Sen. Rick Scott. “(Former President Joe) Biden has ruined all this. He's ruining the entire immigration process. He's contaminated the immigration. Now, we're (Venezuelan President Nicolas) and President Maduro's criminals.
Scott's comments mimicked Trump's accusations about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's 2024 presidential campaign trajectory, deliberately sending criminals to the United States, and denounced former President Joe Biden for the surge in illegal immigration.
“The law doesn't require anyone to actually go to a ju trial,” Sen. James Lankford of D-Okla retorted Fox News Digital. “A hearing can be held. It's not a trial. It's not a jury trial. It's not a right of someone who doesn't exist legally in the country.”
Immigrants line up outside the Immigration Reticket Center in Manhattan on January 5, 2024. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Lankford said illegal immigrants are entitled to only hearings, but is supported by the due process clause of the fifth amendment, rather than a trial prior to deportation.
“No, that's not necessary,” agrees with Trump, R-Ala. “These people are illegal.”
R-Mo. Sen. Eric Schmidt of the group explained to Fox News Digital that illegal immigrants are entitled to prior notice under Habeas Corpus before deportation, but the judicial system does not clearly define the duration of that window.
“Essentially, the court said that under habeas protection, a notice is necessary,” Schmidt said. “But the question is, what does it mean, is it an hour, is it a day, is it a week? I mean, I mean, I mean, if you are ultimately habeasized, not under the conduct of the alien enemy, there are relatively short windows and (Trump) can proceed with these deportations.”
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White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters Friday. The White House said the Trump administration has the authority to do it “at a time of invasion.”
“A lot of that depends on whether the court does the right thing,” Miller said.
