The Constitution is open to interpretation, cherry-picking, and spin. Sometimes, it is opaque. For instance, the commerce clause comes with no definition of 'commerce.' There is no consensus on the meaning of the Second Amendment. And America's founding document's lack of clarity is why one Supreme Court says that a woman's right to privacy gives her a right to abortion. While another Court swans in later and denies it does.
However, sometimes the language is plain. Take section 1 of the 14th Amendment:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Even a Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge understands that "any person" means everyone - not just citizens. Judge Stephanie Haines upheld a 21-day notice period for migrants to challenge their deportations instead of the mere seven days currently allotted by the Trump administration.
Predictably, this caused consternation among the bigots. MAGA Attorney Mike Davis, who is so far up Trump's ass he was under consideration for US AG, posted to Truth Social:
We The People never agreed to give illegal aliens—especially foreign terrorists—constitutional due-process rights related to their expulsion.
Not at our founding.
Not after the Civil War.
Not in any Congress since then.
Certainly not after the last election.
This is a serious and unacceptable violation of our sovereign rights. John Roberts and his Supreme Court colleagues are squarely to blame.
Sadly for the gung-ho Davis, the law is not decided by social media posts. In addition, this soap box warrior fails Logic 101. How do we know who is an illegal alien or foreign terrorist without due process?
I suspect he's trying to finesse that consideration by specifying "constitutional due-process rights related to their expulsion." He implies that once someone is determined to be in the U.S. illegally — especially a foreign terrorist — they are no longer covered by the 14th Amendment.
There are two problems with that. One, that's not what the Amendment says. Two, who has determined that someone is here illegally and is a terrorist?
That's the whole point of due process. It prevents the state from simply declaring someone is a lawbreaker and disposing of the victim as they see fit. As much as Davis and his fellow travelers would love to see Soviet-style justice in the U.S., the rules do not allow it.
Let's also note that Davis is a petulant bastard. Judge Haines gave Trump a massive victory by agreeing with Trump that undocumented aliens were an "invasion." Therefore, he was legally entitled to invoke the Alien Enemies Act. And doing so after the Supreme Court had prevented Trump from invoking it in May.
She was able to do so because when SCOTUS blocked Trump, they sent the matter back to the lower courts without ruling on the merits of Trump's claim.
As for "John Roberts and his Supreme Court," it is safe to say that in any way the Court's six Conservative Justices can stretch the Constitution to promote and protect Trump and MAGA, they have done so. Dear God, they gave the man complete absolution to commit crimes while in office. If they deny him anything, it can only mean that the Constitution is rock solid on that point.
However, anyone who believes in a restrained state bound by constitutional limits should not pop the champagne cork just yet. Judge Haines' decision will be reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. That Court is currently evenly split — with six Democratic-appointed judges and six Republican (including four by Trump). However, it has two vacancies awaiting two more Trump loyalists.
Lastly, as the due process rights for non-citizens is a constitutional issue, SCOTUS is almost guaranteed to take it up. Especially as it will again have to consider whether Trump can invoke the Enemy Alien Act. And as stated above, they are willing to do their boy a solid if they can find the merest wisp of a loophole.
Davis's aim is to pressure Roberts and his gang when they do get the case. Will it work? I don't know. But I wouldn't bet against it.
