What The Hell America!

The U.S. is on the brink of a constitutional crisis, some legal scholars say, as disputes over immigration enforcement increase the friction between the Trump administration and the judicial branch.

Momodou Taal, a Cornell University graduate student whose visa was revoked over his participation in pro-Palestinian campus protests, has decided to leave the U.S. rather than face detention and deportation. A citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia, Taal is one of several international students who’ve been targeted by the administration over their campus activism.

Another student, Khaman Maluach, a freshman on the Duke University men’s basketball team, also could be affected by the administration’s crackdown on immigration. Maluach is a native of South Sudan — he fled the country when he was a child — and could be deported without the possibility of returning because of the administration’s decision to revoke visas for passport holders from the East African country.

These developments come as the administration and a federal judge seem to be locked in a standoff over a case involving a Maryland resident whom immigration officials apprehended and sent to a prison in El Salvador, in defiance of a court order.

During an Oval Office meeting on Monday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that it’s “up to El Salvador” if they want to return Kilmar Abrego García, who in March was deported to the Central American country. The U.S. Supreme Court has told the administration to “facilitate” Abrego García’s return, but the administration has interpreted that order narrowly: They’ll “provide a plane” if that’s what El Salvador wants, Bondi said.

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, said during the Monday meeting that he isn’t open to sending Abrego García back to the U.S., and called the Maryland man a “terrorist.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have acknowledged that they deported Abrego García in error. An analysis by Bloomberg News found that most of the hundreds of migrants who were deported in March have never been charged with serious crimes in the U.S., and that these conclusions “raise questions about how the Trump administration determined that the migrants sent to El Salvador were violent criminals.”

Timothy Snyder, an American historian who specializes in the history of the Holocaust and Central and Eastern Europe, noted on social media some parallels between the past and present when it comes to “statelessness.”

“The entire practice of the Holocaust of the Jews involved zones of statelessness,” wrote Snyder, a prominent critic of Trump who left Yale University for Canada around the 2024 presidential election. “It is easier to move people away from law than it is to remove law from people. Almost all of the killing took place in artificially created stateless zones.”

As the administration’s deportation efforts continue, here’s a refresher — compiled using information from the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Immigration Law Center — on the rights of migrants.

If you’re a migrant or live with one, plan ahead

• Develop an emergency plan with your family. Memorize what to do, where to go, and whom to call or see if a family member is detained or deported.

• Gather key identity documents not needed daily — passports, birth certificates, immunization and school records, transcripts, educational certificates, diplomas and degrees, baptismal certificates and records, tax returns — and store them in a single, secure place known only to trusted family members.

• Carry a card or paper at all times with your loved ones’ phone numbers and names so that you may contact them even if separated from your cellphone. Memorize at least two reliable adult family members’ numbers. 

• Remain as calm as possible and say as little as possible. 

• Under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, you have a right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself. But, anything you say can be used against you in legal proceedings. And in some states, you must provide your name.

• Don’t answer any other questions. Instead, request a lawyer.

If ICE comes to your home

• Don’t immediately open the door. 

• You have the right to see a warrant. Ask the officer to slip the warrant underneath the door or display it through a window. If you open the door and allow the official to come into the house, this may be considered “consent” to enter.

• The warrant must be signed by a state or federal judge or a magistrate, giving the officer permission to enter your home. You’re required to open the door only if the warrant has your correct information, a valid date, and is signed by a judge or magistrate. Look closely. Sometimes immigration officers only have paperwork they have issued.

If ICE comes to your job

• Stay as calm as possible.

• Don’t run. Running may be considered an admission that you have something to hide.

• Don’t answer any questions, including where you were born, your immigration status, and your immigration or criminal history. Instead, ask to speak with a lawyer. Say aloud, “I don’t consent to a search.” This includes your property, bags, and pockets.

If ICE, CBP, or police stop you while driving

• If asked to do so, show the official your license, registration, and proof of insurance. Don’t show the official any false documents. Tell the official if you need to reach into a purse, pocket, or glove compartment to retrieve these items. Don’t answer any questions related to your immigration status or your birthplace.

• You have the legal right to remain silent. If you want to do so, say, “I want to exercise my right to remain silent. I want to speak with a lawyer.”

• If the officer asks to search your vehicle, you have the right to refuse. If you don’t want to give permission for a search. Say, “I don’t consent to any search.” If you say this, in some cases the officer can’t search your vehicle without a search warrant. If the official has what’s known as reasonable suspicion of a crime, they can search the vehicle on the spot without a warrant.

If you’re detained or arrested by ICE, CBP, or police

• Find out which agency has detained or arrested you. (What police department? Or are the officers with the FBI, ICE, or CBP? Ask.) Then ask for and write down the individual agent’s identification number and license plate number, if possible.

• In some states, you must provide officers with your name. But don’t answer further questions. Instead, tell the officials that you want a lawyer and will remain silent. 

• Contact a lawyer and your consulate as soon as possible.