WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called on Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley to convene a hearing on the Trump Administration’s violations of the right to due process. Senator Welch and Ranking Member Durbin were joined by every Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  

“The Senate Judiciary Committee has a special responsibility to examine whether the Executive Branch has circumvented the Constitution in carrying out its policy agenda. We urge you to schedule an immediate hearing on the administration’s infringement of this critical constitutional right,” Democratic Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee write. 

The Senators add, “For over two centuries, America’s commitment to due process has helped define us as a free nation. In recent months, President Trump has repeatedly departed from that obligation to support his agenda regardless of its legality.”  

This Congress, congressional Republicans have failed to hold a hearing or investigate violations to due process, despite President Trump’s illegal disappearances of individuals without due process, detainments, deportations, and threats to suspend habeas corpus.  

The letter was led by Senator Welch and signed by Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.). 

Read the letter here and below: 

Dear Chairman Grassley:  

The Constitution prohibits the deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. As the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed, this constitutional right affords all those present in the United States the opportunity to contest any allegations the government levies against them in a court of law. 

For over two centuries, our commitment to due process has defined us as a free nation. In recent months, however, President Trump has repeatedly departed from that obligation. The case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia underscores the profound consequences of the administration’s disregard for due process. In March, the government mistakenly deported Mr. Abrego Garcia to a Salvadoran prison—an error it has admitted—in direct contravention of a 2019 court order and without even the semblance of due process. The administration has failed to demonstrate its compliance with repeated federal court orders to facilitate Mr. Garcia’s return, and Mr. Garcia remains imprisoned. Courts around the country have been forced to stop additional deportations that took place without due process. Now, Trump Administration officials are discussing unilaterally suspending habeas corpus, depending “on whether the courts do the right thing or not.” 

To date, no congressional committee has held a hearing on the administration’s violations of the right to due process. The Senate Judiciary Committee has a special responsibility to examine whether the Executive Branch has circumvented the Constitution in carrying out its policy agenda. We urge you to schedule an immediate hearing on the administration’s infringement of this critical constitutional right. 

Sincerely,  

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