1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I don’t normally write my elected officials because I realize that people have differences of opinion, and that is fine. You don’t need to know every time I disagree with you. However, the past few weeks have been different. Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the current presidential administration shred the Constitution, destroy civil liberties, deny due process, and ignore court orders—all without any consequences. First, they detained a permanent legal resident who has not been accused of any crime simply because that individual exercised his First Amendment rights. They have offered no evidence that he harassed or intimidated anyone or engaged in any criminal action. This is, mind you, the same administration that pardoned January 6 insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol to disrupt an official proceeding and violently assaulted police officers (including one who died). Many of those insurrectionists were wearing antisemitic slogans as they did it. Then, to make matters worse, this past weekend, the administration arrested hundreds of Venezuelans, claiming they were gang members but without offering any proof. They did not afford these individuals (many of whom are legal residents) any opportunity to rebut the charges against them, nor did they hold a deportation hearing. They simply renditioned them to a third country (El Salvador) that is now holding them in a brutal prison despite a court order directing them to halt the flights. If the administration can detain people without charges, due process, or evidence of any criminal wrongdoing, and if the administration can simply ignore court orders without consequence, then we no longer live in a constitutional republic with checks and balances. Rather, we live in a dictatorship with the façade of elections. So, my question to you, as my elected official, is: What are you going to do about it? Are you just going to sit idly by and allow the president to destroy our Constitution and claim absolute power? Or will you stand up for your country and defend the Constitution?