Innocent until proven guilty has long been one of the fundamental principles to our rule of law. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that “no person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Otherwise, an authoritarian government can claim anyone is a criminal and deprive them of their rights.
Along with many others, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father living in Maryland, was recently deported to El Salvador and sent to a terrorist confinement center. They were deported without being given the rights to due process. What makes this even more alarming is that Kilmar was sent to El Salvador in defiance of a court order. In 2019 the court found that, while he had entered the country illegally, he wasn’t granted asylum but he was put on a strict withholding order that forbid his deportation to El Salvador where his life would be at risk.
In 2025 Garcia was deported to El Salvador anyway. Not only was he deported, but also he was sent to a terrorist confinement center. All without trial. In Noem vs. Garcia No. 24A949, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0: “The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal. The United States represents that the removal to El Salvador was the result of an ‘administrative error.’”
The Supreme Court went on to say the Trump administration must facilitate Garcia’s return and treat him as if he hadn’t already deported. The court also said the government must share what steps it has taken to ensure his return so he can be treated fairly according to our Constitution.
Now the government claims they have no jurisdictional power over the return of Garcia. A man living in Maryland, without conviction of any crime, was sent to a foreign prison without even the chance to defend himself and is no longer even able to be returned despite a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling.
If this administration is allowed to continue in this reckless fashion, who know who might be the next person illegally deported to a terrorist confinement center? It might be you. Any evidence you have that might prove your innocence will be irrelevant if you are not given due process and the opportunity to defend yourself. Are you willing to be the next “administrative error?”
Ben Mullen
Saugus
