Supreme Court: Defend the Rights of Elected Officials and the Rule of Law

I write to you with grave concern regarding the recent actions taken by the Trump administration that threaten the foundational principles of our democracy. The prosecution of Representative LaMonica McIver and the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, both engaged in lawful oversight of the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility, exemplify a troubling pattern of executive overreach and the politicization of justice. On May 9, 2025, during a sanctioned oversight visit to Delaney Hall, Rep. McIver and Mayor Baraka were involved in incidents leading to their arrest and prosecution. Mayor Baraka’s trespassing charges were subsequently dropped, with a federal magistrate judge criticizing the prosecution’s hasty actions as a “worrisome misstep”. Despite this, Rep. McIver faces two counts of assaulting federal officers, charges she and her legal team assert are politically motivated. These events are not isolated. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice has initiated prosecutions against officials from separate branches of government, including a sitting judge, raising concerns about the misuse of prosecutorial power to intimidate and suppress political opposition. Such actions undermine the separation of powers and erode public trust in the impartiality of our justice system. Furthermore, the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies, including the expansion of detention facilities like Delaney Hall, operated by private entities with questionable oversight, exacerbate these concerns. The use of private, for-profit detention centers has been criticized for lacking transparency and accountability, leading to potential human rights violations. The Supreme Court has a constitutional duty to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of all citizens against executive overreach. I urge the Court to scrutinize these actions and ensure that the principles of due process, equal protection, and the separation of powers are preserved. Our democracy depends on the judiciary’s commitment to justice and the safeguarding of constitutional norms.