As a country we sorely need an education in civics and the Abrego Garcia case is an opportunity.

Update 5/2/2025: A majority  are getting the message. Per a respected public pollster, 54% of Americans see Trump as a dangerous dictator. The rest think Trump should have more power to accomplish his goals. Most Americans Describe Donald Trump as 'Dangerous Dictator'—New Poll - Newsweek

Continuing with the original post:

Why does it seem eyes glaze over whenever the rule of law, the Constitution, is cited and terms like separation of powers and checks and balances are tossed around? No wonder we are about to lose our democracy. We are a country of civics illiterates.  As a country, we sorely need an education in civics, and the Abrego Garcia case is an opportunity.  Somewhere, our educational system failed us. Naturalized citizens must pass a civics test to become citizens, and according to a 2018 survey, 60% of  Americans would flunk it.  Those over 65 had learned it in school; the younger you are, the more likely you are to fail. "Those 65 years and older scored the best, with 74 percent answering at least six in 10 questions correctly. For those under the age of 45, only 19 percent passed with the exam, with 81 percent scoring a 59 percent or lower."National Survey Finds Just 1 in 3 Americans Would Pass Citizenship Test - Institute for Citizens & Scholars. No wonder the age and educational divide predict who votes for whom in any poll. No wonder we are about to lose our democracy because 60% of voters do not understand how worse it could be without it. This is a challenge for political messaging. Trump's defiance of the Constitution and the rule of law presents an opportunity for a national civics lesson. It is also important for anyone crafting a political message to take heed.   An explanation in common terms must be part of any messaging of what it means and why it is important to all of us.

Update 6/1/2025 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/22/oklahoma-schools-teach-2020-election-big-lie-trump/83731606007/

This is not civics ; this is brain washing. of children. It is what is done in communist and fascist dictatorships. There is a good reason Okahoma education ranks 49th in the nation and is such a ruby red state. There is a correlation. (PS I was born and raised in Oklahoma and left the state after college graduating)

As part of Harvard's answer to Trump's retaliation and revenge campaign for not bowing to him, Harvard is planning to offer a free online course on American civics and the Constitution.

So here is lesson one: What the heck is due process?

We are now aware of a term we may not have learned in school: "due process".Why is due process so important? All persons in the US are protected by the 5th amendment of the Constitution. It protects us from being snatched and disappeared by a tyrannical government. That is why the Supreme ruled 9 to 0 that migrants are covered ..including Abrego Garcia. It is fundamental to our personal freedom from fear of an overpowering "King", tyrant, or dictator. The Abrego Garcia case is a learning opportunity.

The Google AI definition of due process: The Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause guarantees that the federal government cannot deprive individuals of life, liberty, or property without following fair legal procedures. This includes providing notice, a hearing, and a neutral decision-maker when the government is taking action that affects those fundamental rights. The Due Process Clause also limits the government's power to interfere with certain fundamental liberties, regardless of procedures followed. 

If you are ever accused wrongfully of a crime or even disobey a tyrant ..you would be especially grateful for it. If Trump succeeds in defying it..the precedent is set that the due process clause has no teeth and therefore, we all are no longer protected by the due process clause. It is unenforceable no matter how a court rules that it is Constitutional in this case. This is why the Abrego Garcia case and Trump's defiance of court rulings have the makings of a Constitutional crisis. Without adherence by all to court rulings, like them or not, the Constitution is just a piece of paper that once had importance in history.

Lesson number two: The rule of law still rules. It is being challenged by the rule of Trump as Trump demands judges whose judgment he does not like to be impeached, and he tries to get around obeying court orders by pulling a stunt that looks like criminal contempt of a judge's order. For example, in the Abrego Garcia incident. Judge just found probable cause Trump did in this flight of the night incident to avoid complying with court order. "those individuals were on planes being flown overseas, having been spirited out of the United States by the Government before they could vindicate their due-process rights by contesting their removability in a federal court, as the law requires." We have not heard the end of this story.  There will be a full-out trial of the stunt, and if the Trump admin. is found guilty, someone may go to jail over this. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/g-s1-60696/judge-contempt-alien-enemies-act   

Update 5/1/2025 : https://www.newsweek.com/trump-appointed-judge-hands-migrants-legal-win-against-president-2066830   and upholds the right of immigrants to protect their due process by objecting to the application of the alien enemies act to their cases.

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: What's the big deal about the rule of law? Who cares? Updated to 4/20/2025

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: What those who support the rule of law should fear the most updated

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: What's the big deal about democracy? Who cares? Updated through 3/29/2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/19/politics/supreme-court-alien-enemies-act-order/index.html

Per Google AI 6/1/2025  In rankings related to K-12 education, Oklahoma generally performs poorly, often being ranked near the bottom. Specifically, U.S. News & World Report and The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count report place Oklahoma 48th and 49th respectively in education. WalletHub's study also ranks Oklahoma as having one of the worst public school education systems. 

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The Trump regime plot to break the rule of law:Act like a dictator first:get SCOTUS ok later Update to 4/19/2025

 It is becoming clear that the Trump regime's strategy to break the rule of law and make law the rule of a dictator: Act like a dictator first, and then see how much they can get away with it later, using the Supreme Court for OKs.

The Trump regime is attempting to tear down the rule of law, by threatening impeachment of judges whose rullnges they do not like, bullying large law firms into not representing clients the Trump regime does not like, and now threatening to defy court orders in the wrongfully deporting Venezualan gang members, depositing them in El Salvador jails the US funds, and now defying court orders to return them to the US to face due process hearings.)  The Supreme Court then ruled unanimously that before deportation, there must be a hearing before a judge, a right granted by the Constitution to all persons in the US, not just citizens. 

Update 5/4/2025 https://www.msn.com/.../trump-says-i-don-t.../ar-AA1E9aNM...

THOUGHT THAT WAS WHAT HE SWORE TO DO WHEN INAUGURATED!!!

Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

msn.com

Trump Says ‘I Don't Know' When Asked if He Has to ‘Uphold the Constitution'

Updates: 4/19/2025.What is critical about the decisions surrounding the Abrego-Garcia case is not just an unjust treatment of an individual, it is the precedent it sets for anyone else, that the same bogus arguments could be used against anyone, US citizen or migrant, who dares to speak out against the government or just spends time with the wrong crowd. Those considered undesirable in a tyrant's eyes can be abused by a (king, dictator,)citing a decision favorable to the tyrant court precedent that in turn affects us all, not just Abrego-Garcia. It is particularly alarming when Trump says he is considering sending bad criminal citizens to offshore prisons. So far, the courts have ruled that all citizens and migrants must have a due process hearing. A sneak removal by airplane in the middle of the night to avoid due process is a possible criminal contempt of a court ruling, that is also being litigated. 

The argument from the right, Abrego-Garcia is a criminal and gang member, without credible crime evidence...just an assertion. That is the problem: who says or decides who is a criminal or gang member?ICE? The A way is to require due process, a hearing before a judge with time to prepare for a defense, and Abrego-Garcia is a case in point. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-deportations-el-salvador-9988b667199e1b02fc0a6a83570225c1

Trump's Team Caved on Abrego Garcia Deportation in 2019 | TIME The court ruled Abrego Garcia had special protection status from deportation because he feared for his live and the Trump administration failed to appeal the ruling. That was in Trump's first term. It was not because he was or was not a gang member.   The court ruled Abrego Garcia had special protection status from deportation because he feared for his live and the Trump administration failed to appeal the ruling. That was in Trump's first term. It was not because he was or was not a gang member. If he had a chance to bring this up before an immigration judge under "due process" clause and not put on a plane the middle of the night before he had a chance to tell a judge, this would not have been an issue. It would be a simple thing to bring Abrego Garcia back to stand before a due process immigration judge (a full trial is not required) to bring up the 2019 order. That is probably why the Trump admin. has been defying the court orders to do so. It would be very embarrassing and the Trump admin. could not plead ignorance since they were the one who screwed up in 2019. In addition, is there any evidence that Abrego Garcia has been actively involved in gang activity since 2019?

The last word about the Alien Enemies Act, under which Trump claims, gives him the right to do what he is doing, whether there is a war with Venezuela. The act was supposed to be used in wartime.That may yet be litigated.https://apnews.com/article/trump-alien-enemies-act-venezuela-tren-de-aragua-103919f71db9a9e7a9a3de102858548

Update 4/19/2025In an attempt to avoid having to toe the line of the rule of law, Trump commits another stretch of truth: The Alien Enemies Act, which was designed to remove enemies during a war. Zap, claims Trump/ We are at war with Venezuela.  We are? That may have stretched an interpretation of the law to the breaking point.  In an emergency ruling the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order to stop deportees using that law. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/19/g-s1-61385/supreme-court-block-deportations

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/whats-big-deal-about-rule-of-law.html

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/what-those-who-support-rule-of-law.html  What those who support the rule of law should fear the most:  what happens if the Trump regime defies a court order? By whom and how can there be any enforcement?

The Supreme Court just set up a potentially huge clash with Trump   Update: 4/11/2025

https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-4-9-2025#00000196-1b3e-df33-a5d6-5b7facb40000     Courts now denying deportations based on enemies act, likely to go to SCOTUS

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/whats-big-deal-about-rule-of-law.html

 https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/what-those-who-support-rule-of-law.htm 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-el-salvador-prison-kilmar-abrego-garcia-5a92d6bd7f893eed64c2607cc129a6f9l     

4/18/2025 GOP Judge Darkly Warns Of Last Chance To Avoid Tyranny   The appeals court rejected the Trump administration appeal in the case of the wrongly deported Abrego-Garcia: The ruling is also a wakeup call: 

“The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order.” “If today the Executive claims the right to deport without due process and in disregard of court orders, what assurance will there be tomorrow that it will not deport American citizens and then disclaim responsibility to bring them home?” “Now the branches come too close to grinding irrevocably against one another in a conflict that promises to diminish both.” “The Executive may succeed for a time in weakening the courts, but over time history will script the tragic gap between what was and all that might have been, and law in time will sign its epitaph.”