Seems fair to say that most of the actions of this administration amount to a steady erosion of the freedoms upon which this Republic has stood for nearly 250 years. However, what we are going to talk about today is less an erosion and more a ripping out by the roots one of those freedoms and casting it aside without a second thought. All done in a matter of months by an orange moron, his sick band of sycophants, and 6 men in black robes.

As a quick reminder, the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution protects citizens against “unreasonable search and seizures” by the government. The 4th Amendment is the reason that police need a warrant signed by a judge before they can search a suspect or his residence or his possessions. Police cannot stop you or your vehicle without reasonable proof of a crime. The 4th is not only a major theme of all “Law and Order” episodes, it is a critical, fundamental right of freedom in this country.

In Los Angeles, in an attempt to meet Steven Miller’s ill-conceived national goal of 3000 immigrant arrests per day, ICE formed roaming groups of masked agents in unmarked cars to patrol Hispanic areas of the city, stop vehicles with Hispanic looking people in them, raid Home Depot stores in Hispanic neighborhoods, demand proof of citizenship from Hispanics, and conduct other Storm Trooper actions. In numerous cases, these sweeps resulted in citizens being handcuffed, taken into custody, and processed until they proved their lawful standing with “papers”. Some Hispanic citizens of the US were held for 3 or 4 days until their relatives could prove that they were citizens.

These types of Brown Shirt, strong arm tactics are patently illegal in this country. Right? Well, Judge Frimpong of the Central District of California certainly thought so. In her ruling, she stated that there had “been ample evidence presented that these seizures occurred based solely upon 4 enumerated factors: 1) apparent race or ethnicity; 2) speaking Spanish; 3) presence at a particular location; and 4) type off work one does”. On July 11, Judge Frimpong granted a temporary restraining order enjoining the government from pursuing these stops based on these factors. The Trump administration tried to stay the district court’s restraining order, but the 9th Circuit denied the stay in an August 1 opinion.

On September 8, the Supreme Court in a brief, unsigned order through their “shadow docket” upheld the stay, reversing the District court and the 9th Circuit. Because this issue was decided through the “shadow docket” there was no accompanying, reasoned rationale from the majority, just the decision. However, Justice Kavanaugh wrote a concurrence to the decision in which he discussed his reasoning on the issue and stated “as for those individuals who are legally in this country, the questioning in those cases is usually brief and those individuals may promptly go free after making clear to immigration officials that they are legally in the United States.” That last bunch of words could only have been written by a privileged, white male. Sure, if you’re a Supreme Court Justice the questioning will be brief and cordial and you’ll be on your way. Anyone been watching how ICE handles these Hispanic people on a stop or a sweep? Anything look brief and polite? Think it would be upsetting to be Hispanic and get stopped 3 or 4 times a week in your neighborhood by masked bullies and have to produce “papers” to be allowed to move forward with your life? (Evidently,Justice Kavanaugh thinks that level of harassment is just fine.) We don’t have “papers” in the United States. We don’t have to prove who we are or where we’re going. You mean Hispanics have to, but the rest of us do not? Is that where we are now? After this ruling, we are exactly there.

In her scathing dissent, Justice Sotomayor wrote “we should not live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, or works a lower wage job. Rather than stand idly by while our Constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent.”

I dissent also. You should dissent. Every thinking American should be dissenting instead of worrying about releasing the Epstein Files or what the idiot is doing to the White House or how he suddenly became an expert in the fake medical connection between Tylenol and autism. I know there is lots of stuff going down every day. I believe that is part of the plan. Overwhelm us all so we stop caring and they can run amok. But, you know, you take away the 4th Amendment protections for one group because of their skin color or their native language and, as horrible as that is, they won’t stop there. Which group and which freedom are next?

END NOTES

I love going back and reading books that I was forced to read when I was in school and understanding the author on a whole new level. What a surprise that a high school sophomore didn’t fully appreciate the class consciousness in Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” or the genius of Hemingway’s short, brutal sentences. They are classics for a reason. In that vein, I read Norman Maclean”s “A River Runs Through It” last week. Good Lord, that man’s use of language is lyrical and the themes of fathers and brothers are woven throughout the entire book. I didn’t want to finish. The book is far too short. I was lucky enough to spend some time in Montana during my career. I’ll never forget the beauty of that country and, believe me, I forget much.