Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

The phrase, “Desperate times call for desperate measures” has its linguistic roots in Aphorisms, a collection of sayings by Hippocrates, the famed Greek physician. His original quote was "For extreme diseases, extreme methods of cure, as to restriction, are most suitable." Erasmus, a Catholic priest, theologian, and philosopher, included a similar reference in his 1500 work, Adagia.

Regardless of its derivation, it is a commonly accepted truth. It is equally true that the United States of America is facing some desperate times in the Spring of 2025.

At the top of the list is the constitutional tug-of-war between the executive and judicial branches of our federal government over the deportation of illegal immigrants. I have listened to the arguments on both sides – liberal and conservative, constitutional constructionists and constitutional revisionists – and have arrived at my own commonsensical conclusion.

Deport them all.

But Dale, what about the Fourth Amendment, which forbids illegal searches and seizures; and the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees the right of due process before being denied life, liberty, or property?

Well, my friend, let me begin with a disclaimer or two. First, I am not a lawyer or a constitutional expert. However, I am a lifelong amateur historian who has studied the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Federalist eras for more than 50 years. More importantly, I am a hardworking American who has paid taxes for four decades and counting, and I am sick and tired of my hard-earned money being used to subsidize illegal behavior. And finally, I am the father of three and the grandfather of six, and I will not stand idly by while this country goes to hell in a handbasket because our elected officials don’t have the moral courage to do something about it.

To those who claim that the Fifth Amendment extends due process to everyone, including illegal immigrants, simply because it begins with the words “No person”, I beg to differ. There is no way our Founding Fathers and the Framers of our Constitution could have envisioned a day when 11 million to 15 million immigrants would illegally pour across our border, aided and abetted by the President of the United States and his treasonous administration.

As a matter of fact, the United States had no immigration laws whatsoever for the first 100 years of our nation’s history. Finally, in 1876, the United States Supreme Court ruled that regulating immigration was a federal responsibility. Until then, foreigners were welcome to set foot on American soil anytime and anyplace they wanted. The general consensus was that with 3.8 million square miles from “sea to shining sea”, there was more than enough room for everyone.

Following the SCOTUS decision, Congress passed a series of dubious (even shameful) laws to regulate who could come into the country and in what numbers. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and Alien Contract Labor laws of 1885 and 1887 prohibited certain laborers from immigrating to the United States. The general Immigration Act of 1882 levied a head tax of fifty cents on each immigrant and denied entry to “idiots, lunatics, convicts, and persons likely to become a public charge”.

Between 1890 and 1919, more than 18 million immigrants passed legally through Ellis Island and other ports of entry, mostly from Eastern and Southern Europe. I, for one, can trace part of my ancestry to those brave and enterprising souls from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany.

However, what has transpired over the past four years under Joe Biden, Alejandro Mayorkas, and Co. has been anything but legal. On the contrary, it has been a planned invasion of our country and an attack on our national sovereignty that has strained our law enforcement agencies to their limits and our educational and healthcare systems to the brink of collapse while bankrupting our social service networks in the process.

Desperate times indeed.

Progressives would tell you that each of these 11 million to 15 million illegal immigrants deserves his or her day in court. In the meantime, they are free to roam our country at will, flooding our classrooms and hospital emergency rooms at the expense of legal citizens.

No mas!

In my considered opinion, SCOTUS needs to recognize that President Trump has the constitutional authority to immediately deport anyone who has entered America illegally and yes, without due process, under the Alien Enemies Act of 1792. President Woodrow Wilson used this law to intern German and Austro-Hungarian immigrants well after World War I was over and President Harry Truman did likewise for internment and deportations until 1951, six years after World War II had ended.

By the way, both men were Democrats.

Should SCOTUS rule otherwise or refuse to decide on the matter, there is historical precedent for suspending the writ of habeas corpus, such as when President Abraham Lincoln did so during the Civil War. Article I Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

I don’t say this lightly and it would be the option of absolute last resort, but to me, 11 million to 15 million immigrants – including untold thousands of convicted criminals, murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug dealers, and violent gang members – crossing our border illegally qualifies as an invasion… and public safety not only requires their deportation, but also demands it.

One final thought…

Someone recently did the math for how long it would take for 12 million illegal immigrants to each receive a ½ hour due process hearing before being deported. That’s 6 million hours or 250,000 days or roughly 685 years of hearings. And if 10 courts held hearings 24/7, it would still take almost 70 years to clear the docket!

Do you really want to wait that long and tie up that many courts… and who is going to foot the bill? Unfortunately, we all know the answer to that last question: the American taxpayer.