Do Bad Guys Deserve Due Process?

We break down what exactly "Due Process" is, and why EVERY American, whether they love Trump or not, should be horrified by the Administration's contempt for it

American residents — who were in the country legally — are now trapped in one of El Salvador’s most brutal maximum-security prisons, a modern-day gulag. This is happening right now.

They were sent by our government without a hearing, without a trial, without being convicted of a crime, for a duration that has not been specified.

This has understandably led to public outcry, by us and millions of our fellow Americans… NOT because 90% of the men sent to El Salvador have no criminal history in the U.S. or their home countries, but because they were denied due process.

Due Process 101

For most of us who haven’t gone to law school or taken a civics class in awhile, it’s fair to need a refresher! If you don’t need it, feel free to skip ahead.

At its core, due process means the government must follow fair procedures before it can take away your life, liberty, or property. It's not a luxury or a loophole — it's a constitutional guarantee, enshrined in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Due process is what keeps America from becoming a country where the government can jail you without telling you why, deport you without a hearing, or take your property without warning. It’s the right to know the charges against you, to have a fair chance to respond, and to be judged by an impartial decision-maker. In criminal cases, it means the government must prove its case — you don’t have to prove your innocence.

Whether you’re a citizen or not, due process is a cornerstone of American justice. It’s what separates RULE OF LAW (Constitution) from RULE OF MEN (Dictators). When we abandon it — for the most vile criminals, political enemies, immigrants, protesters, or anyone else — EVERYONE become less safe.

Donald Trump, his Administration, and MAGA media are working overtime to convince you that deporting these men to a Salvadoran gulag is justified because they were bad guys — and America is better off without bad guys, right? That’s simple logic to follow, but it intentionally misses the point.

They want you to fixate on the accusations, the headlines, the mugshots — anything to distract from the fact that due process, and the Constitution, was ignored. They want you to hear “El Salvador” and think “good, justice was served.”

But this isn’t about who these men are. It’s about who we are, and whether the rule of law still means anything at all.

Saints & Sinners

What happened to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Merwil Gutiérrez, and other men deported under the Trump administration isn’t about whether they were saints or sinners. It’s about whether or not the government has to prove its accusations against any of us.

The administration is making a deliberate effort to try these men in the public square — to justify the illegal and unconstitutional way they were removed. They are battling to win the narrative war. But the most important question must always remain: Did these men get due process?

The answer is no. And that should scare us all.

Merwil Gutiérrez is just 19. He was living in the Bronx. ICE agents showed up looking for someone else. They knew he wasn’t the guy, but they took him anyway.

No arrest warrant. No hearing. No chance to fight for his place in the only country he really knew. Within days, he was on a flight to El Salvador to be jailed in a maximum security terrorist prison! ICE admitted its mistake. The White House has remained silent.

Where is the accountability? Where is the justice? Why do they not care to make their wrongs right?

Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a valid work permit, no criminal convictions, and lived in Maryland with his U.S. citizen wife and three special-needs children. ICE detained and deported him in March 2025, despite a court order explicitly protecting him from removal. Now, the Trump administration, in a scramble to justify the illegal deportation, is working overtime to smear him. Accusations of gang affiliation or domestic violence are just that: accusations (that could be answered in court if he were given the chance). His record shows no charges or convictions. If the government can ignore the courts and strip away someone’s rights based on an accusation, we are all in big trouble. That’s not justice. That’s authoritarianism.

Justice isn’t who wins the PR war to determine whether someone is a good guy or a bad guy. It’s a constitutional guarantee. The Supreme Court upheld a federal judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. And yet, this administration is treating courts orders like suggestions, not mandates.

If the president can ignore court orders, if his team can discard the Constitution when it’s inconvenient, what’s left of the system we want to believe in?

Conditional Due Process is Meaningless

What makes America different — what’s supposed to make us exceptional — isn’t our power. It’s our principles. The idea that everyone, no matter who they are or what they’ve done, is entitled to a fair hearing. That even the most powerful are bound by law.

Because we know sometimes the government — well-intentioned or not — gets it wrong.

You don’t have to like Kilmar or Merwil. You don’t even have to believe they should stay. But you can’t believe in the Constitution and argue every person in the United States isn’t entitled to the same rights it affords.

Because if due process is conditional, it’s meaningless.

This is bigger than immigration — really, you don’t even have to care about immigration. This is a fight for the moral soul of America. Are we are who we say we are?

And if we are, then we fight for justice — not just when it’s easy, not just when it’s popular, but especially when it’s not.

We must protect our Republic — Let’s Act!

We cannot allow this dangerous assault on Due Process to stand! It is the most important thing standing between freedom and authoritarian rule.

1) Fund the Legal Fight❗️ Help us fuel lawsuits like the dozens Bright America is funding through our strategic partner Campaign Legal Center. These cases are our constitutional firewall.

2) Call Congress❗️Tell your Representative and Senators: “I’m alarmed by the President’s disregard for due process, which is guaranteed to all persons. If due process is conditional, it’s meaningless.” Calls, emails, and letters matter. They really do. Especially when thousands of us raise our voices together.

3) Join the conversation❗️Leave a comment to let us know how you’re feeling after reading this piece. We love to hear what you think.