President Donald Trump’s authoritarian and unconstitutional immigration policy undermines the idea of a free democracy in the United States. One of the necessary rules of a free society is due process. Trump, with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, “disappeared” 238 people in the U.S. to the El Salvadoran Terrorism Confinement Center with no checks on balances.

During Trump’s limited time in office, the U.S. has witnessed numerous violations of the Constitution. Starting with deporting 238 Venezuelan immigrants on March 15, the Trump Administration violated Article 14 of the Constitution 137 times — meaning 137 Venezuelan people in the U.S. did not receive the rights they were promised. Article 14 states, “No State shall… deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

The Article clearly states that “any person” who steps on U.S. soil has the same rights to a fair trial, just the same as anyone who has been a citizen here for their entire life.

The Constitution is the foundation of rights in this country. Article 2 of the Constitution outlines the President’s responsibility to enforce the laws and make sure they are “faithfully executed.” In a recent NBC “Meet the Press” interview, Trump’s incoherence with regards to the Constitution was especially concerning.

”I don’t know. I’m not— I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” Trump told Reporter Kristen Welker when asked if he agrees that everyone on U.S. soil is entitled to due process in the court of law. When asked if he thinks he has to uphold the Constitution as President, Trump again said, “I don’t know.”

“Every person deserves the rights they are given in the Constitution,” said Sam Wold, a history teacher at Lake Forest Academy.

Trump and his administration have invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, allowing him to remove alien enemies from an enemy nation of people aged 14 and older. The act can only be invoked during a declared war or invasion of a foreign government, and has only been used three times: WWI, WWII and the Quasi-War. President Trump is currently counting illegal immigration as a foreign invasion.

Trump’s invocation of the qct shows his willingness to bend the law to his will, posing a danger to everyone.

One case in particular has stood out: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father and husband living in Maryland, was deported to an Salvadoran prison without any trial or due process. When proven innocent, the Trump Administration acknowledged the event as an “error,” but still refused to bring Garcia back to the U.S.. The courts have ordered the return of Garcia.

The U.S. government removed someone by force, without due process, and left him in a gulag. This is what fascism looks like.

The administration went even further by publicizing a clearly photoshopped image of Garcia’s knuckles, with the symbols MS-13 assigned to tattoos on his knuckles, which have no clear affiliation to a gang. It is difficult to know what is incompetence versus intentional malice.

It is crucial for people to speak out against the Trump administration’s blatant disregard for rights in the U.S.

This quote seems to accurately describe the news of today: “Terrible things are happening outside … poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.” — Diary of Anne Frank, 1943