Rule of Law: Due Process

Information gathered by the Indivisible Chico Research & Information Team

Due process applies to all persons in the United States, regardless of citizenship or immigration status and includes all visitors to the US.

Is due process violated as a result of an emergency? Because of arrogance? Or is it part of a strategy? According to Jason Stanley, a Yale Professor, one tactic used to close an open society or establish an authoritarian government is to subvert the rule of law — creating a system in which the leader is seen as above the law and, by definition, incapable of breaking it.

What is Due Process?

Due process is a fundamental principle enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The Fifth

Amendment states “No person shall . . . be deprived of life liberty, or property, without due

process of law,” and applied to all the states by the 14th Amendment.

What is the Process of Due Process?

Every person present in the United States is granted due process, a legal procedure that must be followed when a person is accused of violating the law. Due process covers when and how a person can be stopped, arrested, detained, or deported.

“[T]he person must be given notice, the opportunity to be heard, and a decision by a neutral decision-maker. The government must also demonstrate that there is an articulated standard of conduct for their actions with sufficient justification.”

Due process applies to all persons in the United States, regardless of citizenship or immigration status and includes all visitors to the US.

What are examples of Due Process Being Violated?

The numbers are alarmingly high, according to trackers such as the United States Disappeared Tracker.

ICE has abducted people, such as students Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, Badar Khan Suri.

ICE has detained and deported U.S. citizens. On April 27, a woman and her 3 children who are U.S. citizens were deported to Honduras.

There are charts available on the ICE data and statistics from ICE's webpage - which can be found at ice.gov/statistics - however, that data hasn't been updated since January of 2025.

Why does this matter?

Without due process, anyone can be targeted. Without being given notice, a person cannot avail themselves of legal consultation. Without being heard, a person cannot defend themselves, present evidence of their rights and innocence, see the opposition’s claims and evidence.

Without a neutral decision-maker, such as a judge in a court of law, a person is at increased risk of harm by those with ill intent and power.

The U.S. Constitution sets the principles and rights of people and government as designed and amended by the power of the people. Violation of due process tears down the premise of America as a place where the rule of law applies, and therefore how and to whom laws are

applied. Without due process, the executive branch of government will determine what is law.

What can we do?

Contact our Attorneys General. You can find more information here: https://www.bluestatedefiance.org/ice

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