LETTER: Lowry gets it partially correct on Abrego Garcia

Surprisingly, Rich Lowry is more right than wrong in his commentary (“Abrego Garcia was never simply a ‘Maryland father,’” Friday Review-Journal e-edition). He writes, “Whether Abrego Garcia was a good guy or a reprobate … had no bearing on whether he should have been imprisoned in El Salvador.” Congratulations — absolutely right. He continues: “The administration will have to prove its charges in court … and if they have been exaggerated … that will presumably be exposed.” Right again — two for two.

But Mr. Lowry stumbles when he claims, “Trump’s critics — yet again — assumed because someone was targeted by the president, he or she must be a figure of righteousness.” That’s not it. This is the error many Trump supporters make.

America was founded 249 years ago by immigrants who rebelled against tyranny and established a government based on the rule of law. The Constitution’s Fifth and Fourteenth amendments guarantee all people in the United States — not just citizens — the right to due process. If the Trump administration had followed the law, as the Biden administration did in its deportation cases, there would have been little outcry over Garcia. Instead, the administration bypassed legal channels in pursuit of an imaginary deportation quota.

Trump officials claim they’re deporting the “worst of the worst.” If so, why not prove it? Bring them before judges and juries. Denying due process raises the question: Are these individuals dangerous criminals — or simply hard-working immigrants attending school, supporting families and complying with the law?