SEN CHRIS COONS: You might get deported if the Trump administration suspends due process

You could be arrested, detained, and deported by the Trump administration.

Yes, you, reading this.

“But,” you might say, “I’m a U.S. citizen. My parents were, too. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

It may not matter. As this administration ramps up mass deportations, you too could be detained and deported – purely by mistake. All because you never got a fair day in court.

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We all know the administration is making mistakes. After all, they’ve told us.

You’ve probably heard of Kilmar Abrego Garcia – the Maryland resident deported to El Salvador earlier this year. The administration’s own lawyers said removing him from the country was “an administrative error.”

He’s certainly not the only mistake. The Trump administration is reportedly paying millions to the El Salvadoran government to keep him and 287 other men imprisoned. The administration says they’re violent gang members, but most of them have no criminal record in the United States or in any other country. The evidence the government says it relied on? They have tattoos of their favorite soccer team, or a Chicago Bulls hat.

This administration has even mistakenly detained U.S. citizens. 19-year-old Jose Hermosillo was arrested by Border Patrol on the street in Tucson. According to his attorneys, he told the officers he was a U.S. citizen. They didn’t believe him. Jose was held for 10 days before his family was able to show an immigration judge his birth certificate. Julio Noriega was detained by ICE in Chicago even though he had proof of his U.S. citizenship in his wallet. Bachir Atallah, a U.S. citizen who voted for Trump in November, was detained along with his wife on suspicion of being undocumented immigrants as they were returning from a family vacation. At least three U.S. citizen children have been detained and removed from the country without a hearing.

Unfortunately, these mistakes are likely to become more frequent as mass deportations ramp up. According to the administration, reaching President Trump’s stated goal of 1 million deportations a year will require them to more than double their current pace. More haste and a higher frequency means more mistakes.

Expecting our entire government to be perfect is a fool’s errand, regardless of which party is in charge. Of course, mistakes happen. That’s why our Framers wrote due process safeguards into the Constitution. The Fifth Amendment says that “no person” shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

Justice Antonin Scalia, a constitutional conservative, wrote: “it is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in deportation proceedings.” In April, the Supreme Court unanimously said that migrants are entitled to an opportunity to challenge their removal before they are sent out of our country.

Despite that clear directive, the administration is trying to end these longstanding protections. President Trump has asked, “How can you give due process to people who came into our country illegally?”

We know the answer. Tell would-be deportees the charges against them. Allow them to talk to their lawyer and explain to a judge why they shouldn’t be deported. Have the government present its evidence, and let the accused present their own. These hearings are much shorter than a criminal trial, but they’re essential to give our citizens a fair chance to stop their mistaken deportation. It’s what saved Jose Hermosillo, who was released after showing his proof of citizenship to a judge.

The Trump administration is taking away that protection in many cases – no access to lawyers, not even the briefest of hearings before an immigration judge. They’re sending migrants to prisons overseas and then saying they have no control over them there. If someone is imprisoned in the United States and evidence that clears them comes to light, their sentence can be overturned. Yet, the administration is saying that once someone is sent to a prison in El Salvador, “the only way out is in a coffin,” as the country’s Justice Minister has put it. And now Stephen Miller, the President’s deputy chief of staff senior for policy, says they’re considering suspending habeas corpus, the important protection in our Constitution that ensures anyone can challenge their detention before a judge. Stripping away this central due process right would be a dramatic and dangerous escalation in Trump’s efforts to prevent judges from ensuring our rights are protected.

I agree that our broken immigration system moves too slowly. Last year, I supported legislation to invest billions of dollars to hire officers and immigration judges to speed up the process.

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That’s a key to addressing this backlog, not getting rid of due process. After all, due process isn’t just for migrants – it’s for you.

Imagine, for a second, that you’re stopped by an ICE officer under pressure to help this administration reach its goal of 1 million annual deportations. Do you carry something in your wallet that could prove you’re a U.S. citizen? Do your kids? Do your parents?

Certain non-citizens can obtain drivers licenses, so they’re not proof. Neither is a social security card.

A passport works, but only about half of Americans have one. Do you know where your birth certificate is? Are you sure it isn’t lost? Both items require time and paperwork to get – not an option when you’re about to be whisked out of the country.

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So, what will you tell ICE if they detain you? Even if you have proof, who will listen if you don’t have a hearing?

There is no such thing as “due process, but only for the good guys.” Due process is how you – the innocent – prove your innocence. Without it, there’s nothing stopping them from arresting Americans by accident and deporting them. If this administration gets rid of due process, anyone could be the next administrative error. Even you.