Posted on 03/30/2017 12:38:47 PM PDT by PROCON
The fact that a bottom-rung judge can wrest constitutional power away from the president of the United States is beyond disturbing.
A third-tier judge, without any constitutional or legal warrant, has taken total control of America’s immigration policy from President Trump. And the president is letting him do it.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii yesterday extended the ban he imposed on President Trump’s travel ban indefinitely. And he imposed it universally, even outside his own jurisdiction, which I doubt he has any authority whatsoever to do. Vowing that the ban would remain in place even if the president appeals to a higher court, Watson said flatly, "Enforcement of these provisions in all places, including the United States, at all United States borders and ports of entry, and in the issuance of visas is prohibited, pending further orders from this court.”
In other words, I’m in charge here, Mr. President, and you’re not.
This is an appalling, alarming, and Constitution-destroying act of judicial hubris and overreach. Simply begin with the fact that neither the Constitution nor the law gives any authority to the judiciary to set immigration policy in any manner at all. The Constitution vests it all in Congress, and Congress under that authority can pass laws which the president as the head of the executive branch then implements.
The law gives the president unquestioned, unilateral, and unreserved authority to block entry into the United States to any persons or group of persons he “deems detrimental to the interests” of the country. And he can simply do it “by proclamation” and entirely on his own authority.
The mere fact that a bottom-rung judge would have the presumption to wrest that power from the president and arrogate it to himself is beyond disturbing. The only thing more disturbing is that we are letting him get away with it. It’s absurd that the only figure who is allowed to dictate immigration policy “by proclamation” is the one figure who has no authority whatsoever to do it.
It must not be forgotten that this toxic activism will not be confined to this renegade judge. Other minor-league judges will take note that one of their colleagues has taken control, all by himself, of a major area of American policy, is dictating policy to the president, and everybody is letting him get away with it. Some judges will certainly tell themselves that if Judge Watson can do it, what’s stopping me from doing the same thing in another area of public policy? The result will be total chaos, with an entire nation in the grip of ego-driven junior league judges routinely exceeding their authority and wresting complete control of American policy from our elected officials.
I, for one, do not welcome our new judicial overlords. And neither should President Trump. If the president were to ignore Judge Watson’s tyrannical edict, on the grounds that the judge has no more legal authority than a traffic court judge to issue it, what could Judge Watson do about it? If the president were simply to go straight on ahead and begin implementing his perfectly constitutional policy, what could Judge Watson do to stop him? Precisely nothing.
Upon taking office, President Trump quite pointedly hung a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the White House. Jackson is perhaps most noted for telling the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to take a hike when he issued an unconstitutional order. Jackson is reported to have said, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”
This is the only way judicial tyranny is going to be broken in America. It will be broken by elected officials who fulfill their oaths of office to uphold and defend the Constitution by flatly refusing to knuckle under to black-robed oligarchs who tread where the Constitution forbids them to go. For elected officials to do this is not civil disobedience; it is constitutional obedience of the highest order.
Meanwhile, Judge Watson is making America less safe by the day as thousands of unvetted refugees, who would otherwise have been blocked, have been flooding into the United States. Who knows how many acts of terror will be committed by these Muslim migrants this judge has foolishly, recklessly, and wrongly allowed into our country?
President Trump’s highest calling is to protect the safety and security of the United States. He shouldn’t let a low-level judge stop him.
Judge Nap just said you can't sue based on what hasn't happened yet.
But, as far as your point about these funds being grants; I agree, it's the discretion of the administration who gets them.
Bottom line; the judiciary is exerting much more power than their constitutionally granted power allows.
Trump would set himself up for impeachment talk from the left, loud and long.
That is a total cop out. Judge G. can be confirmed tomorrow morning if they use the Nuclear option. Why waste time. do it now. Point is McConnell & Co. don’t want to win.
6d chess.
My opinion:
Trump is waiting for Gorsuch to not get the 60 votes necessary to move to a floor vote. Then, McConnell will play the nuclear card, but Trump will nominate another SCOTUS Justice who is more certain to vote in favor of Trump’s immigration plans.
He will tell Gorsuch to wait for the next slot to open.
Once the SCOTUS is back to 5-4, Trump will push the cases forward and have them decided in his favor.
Of course it is but the left has realized that they can run the White House via judical fiat. If this stands EVERYTHING Trump does will be blocked by the courts.
This is a problem which has no simple solution. Only the integrity of the highest judges prevents a Venezuela style takeover, except by a junta of black robed tyrants instead of a single strongman. Should the Supremes rule a certain law unconstitutional even if that decision contradicts the plain reading of the document, they could just as easily rule an amendment to overrule them unconstitutional.
Once the ends start to justify the means, the actor has started down a dangerous path that likely leads to armed conflict. We’ve actually begun town that road with the court overreaching, but so far cooler heads have prevailed.
Get the new Supreme Court Justice in place, then play hard ball.
Like so much of what we see going on in today’s world, the Trump administration’s seemingly weak response to obvious judicial tyranny is mystifying and incomprehensible.
I'm sorry, but your argument cancels itself by the 9th Circuit upholding the first injunction.
The 9th has yet to rule on the second injunction.
The rule of law is playing itself out, and is not finished yet. For Trump to unilaterally play "One-Man SCOTUS" at this point and declare by fiat that the lower court was wrong and he will ignore their ruling is in itself not only unconstitutional, but sets the most dangerous precedent imaginable for the next Democratic President.
You must think beyond the present and take the long view.
“Our best hope is that Sessions is working round the clock in coordinating action plans to begin a massive corruption probe”
That’s what my husband and I finally say after asking ourselves, “Where is Jeff Sessions?!?” We hope he’s in his office 24/7 taking care of business. “Business” = Clinton Foundation, all three Clintons, the rogue judges’ taking control of America, pedophilia at high levels, etc.
This is all wrong and what happens when the new Supreme Court Judge disappoints everybody and votes with the Liberals on all this. It is way past time for Trump and Sessions to show the courage of their beliefs and stand up to these Judges.
I wish he would concentrate his efforts fighting the judges usurping his authority and the Rinos in congress postponing funding for the border wall instead of attacking the conservatives who wouldn't support Ryan's terrible health care bill.
He has no one around him who knows or cares about that "stupid" document.
I said before the election...The Conservatives, especially the chubby bible thumper with a radio show in Iowa and his nebbishy nerdy sounding friend from Conservative Review needed to "get to" Trump, lest the Rinse and Repeats and the Paul RINOs get to him.
He can't be "bought" but he could be "had" by either people willing to kiss his ass or by his family. I don't think many real Conservatives made any effort to get to him.
My belief is that Trump is waiting til Gorsuch is confirmed on April 7th. Then he will fast track this travel ban to the Supremes, get it slapped down and then put the ban back on indefinitely.
Congress should just impeach the clown.
It started with Justice Marshall, the first Chief Justice and it continues today. I believe that the SC has no authority over the President. However, POTUS must be politically strong to weather the media and Demoncrat onslaught if he chooses to take them on. He doesn’t have that support. I’m hoping after 2018 he will.
They could, but they won’t. Their goal is to see Trump fail. We can fix that in 2018 and give Trump the super majority of legislators that will support his objectives to take on the judiciary.
I’m sorry but I don’t understand how, if the courts have no jurisdiction over executive actions, a flawed ruling being upheld by a flawed appeal is upholding the rule of law. Regarding the 9th circuit court, wasn’t the injunction upheld by a three judge panel rather than the entire court sitting en banc? If so, why didn’t the administration appeal to the full court?
If we are to honor the rule of law, than it should be honored immediately as justice delayed is justice denied. And as far as the long view goes, we have been using that tactic for thirty years to almost no avail. That is longer than the debates leading up to the American Revolution or the Civil War.
Of course, the elephant in the room that we are both ignoring is the innocent ignorance of the American public. Probably 90% of our fellow citizens sincerely believe that a “ruling” from any federal court is the absolute final word on any matter, an erroneous opinion gleefully upheld by the popular mass media in order to bolster their view of how the country should be governed. With perception being reality for the vast majority of Americans, Trump is being successfully portrayed as an out of control bomb thrower with the federal courts being the only safety between the nation and disaster. The longer this plays out with no emphatic and immediate push back from the Executive Branch, the worse it looks for them.
Confirmed - Trump’s Department of State is going back to normal refugee admission numbers
State Department says it will up refugee arrivals to 900 a week
Trump Department of State supports the Muslim Brotherhood, White House caves
You mean the federal marshals who answer to the Attorney General, who answers to President Trump?
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