Evidence of increasing authoritarianism
Cruelty in the guise of law and order
In May, DHS filed an application with the US Supreme Court for a stay of the injunction issued by the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts and a request for an immediate administrative stay. This injunction by the US District Court was requested by three plaintiffs who feared being expelled to a third country. They had reason to be concerned. In May a planeload carrying 8 men was being sent to South Sudan. According to the administration, only South Sudan would accept these worst of the worst criminals. When a foreign national commits a crime on US soil, they face a criminal trial. If found guilty for serious offenses, they are subject to mandatory deportation. Often the originating country of the foreign national refuses to repatriate them causing a problem to expel these criminals from the US. The only legal recourse is to sanction that country’s visa program.
DHS has argued that the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the executive Branch to remove aliens to third countries. The US seeks assurance from third countries that no aliens will be tortured upon removal there allowing DHS to expel individuals to that country. The injunction issued by US District Court, it is argued, interferes with US foreign policy. On June 23 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the administrative stay. The administration is now free to send deportees to third countries like South Sudan and Libya.
Not surprisingly, the three liberal Justices dissented from the ruling. In that dissent it is noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had stated in a sworn affidavit that “Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) publicly rejected the use of Libyan territory for accepting deportees.” Indeed Rubio went on to explain that public reports of potential migrant removal to Libya sparked the most serious street fighting in Tripoli since 2022. Although Libya has denied any coordination with the US on this issue, according to the dissent, the US government can now send any deportee to any country without the need to consider whether there is a fear of torture or death for that individual in being expelled to a third country thereby rendering due process moot.
Returning to the days after the inauguration when the President attended a worship service where Bishop Budde appealed to him to be merciful in his treatment of migrants, the uproar from his supporters was immediate. The defense that scripture did not require mercy for the “illegals” was resounding. Good Christians continued to defend the idea that according to the bible mercy need only be extended to those who came the legal way.
With that support echoing across social media, the administration felt confident in its cruel policy that sent nearly 300 men to a foreign prison known for its human rights abuses and paid for by our tax dollars. In my research of approximately 60 of those men, less than a dozen had criminal convictions. Investigations have revealed that approximately 100 of those men had simple final deportation orders and were not removed by the Administration under the Alien Enemies Act claiming gang activity. Of the approximately 138 removed due to gang affiliation, the only evidence listed for the vast majority was their tattoos. Experts have weighed in, and family members have stated, that the tattoos of crowns, clocks and trains are common and not an indication of Tren de Aragua gang affiliation. In fact the gang does not have particular tattoos as that makes them easier to identify. The official statement continues to be these are the worst of the worst criminals. The facts defy that statement. Abandoning due process will result in others being expelled to third countries where life and liberty may be denied.
Expulsion to South Sudan is now back on the table. To be clear, the eight men removed to South Sudan in May all had criminal convictions for violent crimes here in the US. South Sudan is a country on the brink of collapse. As of March 21, 2025 the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) reported the persistence of political violence, instability and one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Violent clashes and hunger have afflicted overcrowded camps and South Sudan lacks the resources to meet humanitarian needs. Two thirds of the population face severe food insecurity. Heavy rains and severe flooding in 2024 have devastated villages and farmland expected to worsen the hunger crisis. Political tension and violence have significantly escalated since the beginning of 2025. Although criminals can now be sent to South Sudan who appears willing to accept them, this ignores the moral question of sending even hardened criminals to such a vulnerable area impacting the local communities already in crisis.
The Supreme Court has now given permission to this administration to lawfully enact these cruel policies. Because its “those people who deserve it” supporters will empower this administration to continue its cruel policies. However just because something is found to be legal, does not mean it is just. The use of tattoos alone to label someone a terrorist infiltrating our country is unjust. Men like Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, a father of three, who left Venezuela in 2024 to migrate to the US to raise money for surgery his mother needed. When he crossed into Texas, he surrendered to Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and National Guard soldiers. Although Pedro has no tattoos, a photo of him posing with another man with tattoos was used to link him to Tren de Aragua. Although Pedro’s brother was told he would be deported to Venezuela in a phone call in early March, Pedro was disappeared to CECOT as one of the worst of the worst criminals who had infiltrated our country. On June 17, a Texas judge ordered his return from CECOT to stand trial for trespassing on private property. This misdemeanor charge has been utilized in Texas through Operation Lonestar to arrest border crossers who arrive on private property. Time will tell if the administration complies with the ruling.
We can expect more of these cases in the coming weeks as DHS moves to send deportees to third countries they claim are safe for deportation. Without the opportunity to appeal that decision, more people whose only crime is to come to the US to seek relief from persecution and extreme poverty will be expelled to unknown and perhaps dangerous locations. Without due process, more people whose only crime is to have a suspicious tattoo may find themselves in a foreign prison with no hope for parole. The cruelty will expand. It’s intended to create fear in migrants across the country who are encouraged to self deport and return “the legal way.” Many of them are moving through the legal process already. Self deporting will mean they cannot return “the legal way” for 3-10 years.
According to Nico Krisch and Ezgi Yildiz in their work on Resurgent Authoritarianism , Rights and Legal Change, authoritarians governments routinely justify rights violations by invoking other basic norms like counterterrorism and sovereignty, emphasizing non-interference in domestic affairs. The policies of this administration that they cannot be held accountable due to interference with foreign affairs fits right into this strategy. There is an authoritarian shift happening in the US today, and the conservative members of the Supreme Court have allowed that shift to continue.