1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

The Trump administration's brazen defiance of judicial oversight by deporting alleged Venezuelan gangsters despite a federal court order blocking such action represents an existential threat to America's constitutional system of checks and balances. This lawless disregard for the authority of the judicial branch to constrain executive overreach sets a dangerous precedent that could enable unchecked abuses of power and human rights violations without accountability. Strong action is urgently needed to rein in this authoritarian impulse, reaffirm the independence of the judiciary as a co-equal branch of government, and reassert the democratic principle that no president is above the law. Failure to do so would irreparably erode the foundations of constitutional democracy and the rule of law.