Veteran immigration attorney Andrew Rankin of Memphis Tennessee spoke to Pacifica’s Thomas O’Rourke in early March about political, legal, and social issues surrounding immigration to the United States.
Attorney Rankin talks about the perils that migrants face upon arriving in the United States. He also discusses laws and strategies that make it possible for them to stay.
Andrew Rankin assesses the likelihood that birthright citizenship, codified in the 14th Amendment, might be overturned by the Supreme Court.
On Friday, March 28th, Trump administration lawyers argued before the US Supreme Court that they should be allowed to use the wartime authority granted under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport migrants without due process as, for example, when they are alleged to be members of Tren de Aragua, an allegedly Venezuelan-based criminal gang.
Trump’s lawyers were in part reacting to US District Judge James Boasberg’s ruling against this expanded interpretation of “war time” as a basis for denial of due process.
U.S. Department of Justice lawyers have recently turned to invoking “state secrets” as a rationale for withholding so-called sensitive information from the courts. We will continue to follow these unfolding stories.
We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by Thomas O’Rourke, Polina Vasiliev, and the Capitalism, Race & Democracy collective.
You can find this and all previous episodes at our website “capitalism race and democracy dot ORG”. Make sure you click the subscribe button. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @PacificaCRD.
Thanks for listening!
Music:
Somos Más Americanos (En Directo Desde Los Angeles MTV Unplugged)
The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)
