Marbury v. Madison II: Judgment Day
So our beloved Congress has passed, and our esteemed president has signed into law, the RealID Act, which (among other things) is intended to expedite construction of a barrier between the U.S. and Mexico. (Where I use the word "expedite", please insert "strip you of everything you hold dear in order to facilitate".)The section of the bill in question deals with the authority of the Secretary to "waive all laws" he in his sole discretion believes are impeding construction of a barrier between the U.S. and Mexico. The bill says:
(c) Waiver-
(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.
(2) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW- Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court, administrative agency, or other entity shall have jurisdiction--
(A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1); or
(B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive, equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to arise from any such action or decision.
So, what's the big deal? We should make it easy for the DHS to build a wall between us and our neighbors to the south, right? Right?
Regardless of what you might think about the idea of a barrier, the real issue is part (2), in which Congress says -- quite literally -- that the Secretary of Homeland Security can do virtually anything he wants in the name of building this wall, and the courts have no authority whatsoever to act. If the Secretary, in his "sole discretion," thinks that it's necessary to drop Agent Orange over a strip on the border 10 miles wide, if the Secretary thinks it's necessary to hire paid assassins to kill people who just might be trying to impede construction of the wall, if the Secretary really likes your lake house and thinks it'd make a great weekend retreat -- well, tough cookies. According to this law, nobody has any recourse against him.
Okay. That last one might be an exaggeration, since the exemption from judicial review pertains to actions taken "to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section". But the other stuff? Clearly within the purview of the statute.
And if Congress and the administration get away with this -- if they can carve out one area where the courts have no jurisdiction to protect our rights from the executive branch, and the courts acquiesce -- then there's no stopping them. Period.
But thank goodness the Democrats aren't still running the country. Because, you know, they wanted to improve your gas mileage and clean your water and stuff. Can't have that.
posted by MeanMrMustard @ 9:02 AM
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