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One of the key weaknesses in the “resistance” to Donald Trump has been that nobody wants to get their hands dirty. Nobody wants to risk anything to fight the menace in the White House. People want to follow the rules, both the laws and the norms, even as Trump and his people violate both with impunity. I am constantly reminded of when Ned Stark presents his documents showing King Robert named him protector of the realm, followed closely by Cersei Lannister laughing at him and ripping up the letter in his face.
But there are people out there willing to risk something to stop Trump and his racist policies. Two of them appear to be Massachusetts District Judge Shelley Richmond Joseph and court officer Wesley MacGregor. They now stand accused of allowing a Dominican national to escape her courthouse through a backdoor to avoid being apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
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One of the worst things ICE does, under the direction of the Trump administration, is violate the sanctity of court proceedings by detaining immigrants either in the courthouse or just outside the door. It’s an old-school intimidation tactic that dissuades people who are out of status from asserting their rights in court. It also puts judges in the impossible position of “catching” migrants, instead of adjudicating cases. If they order a person to appear before them, they know they are ordering a person to be detained by ICE, and they know that their rights might not be protected one ICE gets their hands on them.
Most judges complain, but fall in line. As we’ve seen time and again in the Trump era, most people are cowards and will do whatever they are “supposed to do,” even if they know that what they are supposed to do is wrong. Judge Joseph, allegedly, refused to play that game, and allowed this one man to escape.
She and MacGregor, who was allegedly in on the plan, are being charged with one count of (wait for it) obstruction of justice. The irony is rich. The same forces that refuse to hold the President of the United States accountable for his multiple documented acts of obstruction of justice are trying to punish this judge for her compassion.
Of course, rank hypocrisy doesn’t bother Trumpsters. From USA Today:
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The U.S. Attorney in Boston, Andrew Lelling, said the case is “about the rule of law,” not immigration. “We do not view this case in response to the public debate over immigration enforcement. There are reasonable arguments on both sides of that debate, but this isn’t a policy seminar,” said Lelling, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017.
We are infected with people like Andrew Lelling. We need more people like Judge Joseph. We need more people willing to lose something, in order to stop Trump. We need more sacrifice to stop this man.
Trump threw out the rules the moment he went down on his stupid escalator. When will the Resistance to Trump catch up?
Feds charge Mass. judge with obstruction for aiding undocumented immigrant’s escape from ICE [USA Today]
Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.