IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump unleashed an aggressive attack Sunday [6-24-18] on unauthorized immigrants and the judicial system that handles them, saying that those who cross into the United States illegally should be sent back immediately without due process or an appearance before a judge…It was another twist in a head-spinning series of developments on immigration since the administration announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy two months ago, leading to the separation of children from parents who cross the border illegally and an outcry from Democrats and many Republicans. Mr. Trump signed an executive order to end the separations last week, but the sudden shifts have led to confusion along the border about how children and parents will be reunited and to turmoil in Congress as the House prepares to vote on a sweeping immigration bill this week. But Mr. Trump’s call to ignore due process faced both constitutional questions and dissension from Republicans in Congress, some of whom have insisted that the number of judges be increased so migrant families can have their cases heard more quickly. Federal immigration courts faced a backlog of more than 700,000 cases in May, and cases can take months or years to be heard.”
-Katie Rogers and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Trump Calls for Depriving Immigrants Who Illegally Cross Border of Due Process Rights,” The New York Times online, June 24, 2018