Trump warns of 'bedlam, chaos, injury and death' if US judges allowed to do their job
- US President Donald Trump said on Thanksgiving that there would be "bedlam, chaos, injury and death" if the federal judiciary did not give him his way on immigration policy.
- Trump has been butting heads with Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts after the judge defended the independence of the federal judiciary.
- The constitution tasks the judicial branch of government, courts, with checking Congress and the executive branch on the constitutionality of their actions.
- Trump particularly attacked the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, a broadly liberal court that's blocked many of his actions on immigration, like the travel ban and more recently the asylum ban.
President Donald Trump again butted heads with Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts in a sustained attack on the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit after it blocked his move to restrict access to political asylum in the US for illegal immigrants.
"Justice Roberts can say what he wants," Trump tweeted, referring to a rare statement from the top-ranked member of the Supreme Court defending the independence of the judicial branch of government, "but the 9th Circuit is a complete & total disaster."
The 9th Circuit court, based in San Francisco, is one of the US's most liberal, and has blocked Trump's moves on immigration before, such as his travel ban.
"It is out of control, has a horrible reputation, is overturned more than any Circuit in the Country, 79%, & is used to get an almost guaranteed result," Trump tweeted of the court.
A PolitiFact investigation in 2017 found that when the Supreme Court reviewed cases from the 9th Circuit court, it did indeed overturn 79%, but the total number of cases ruled by the court that get overturned stands lower than 1%.
Furthermore, the 9th Circuit court doesn't have the highest rate of cases overturned by the Supreme court, the 6th Circuit court does, PolitiFact found.
"Judges must not Legislate Security and Safety at the Border, or anywhere else. They know nothing about it and are making our Country unsafe," Trump continued.
The US constitution tasks members of the federal judiciary with determining whether or not actions from Congress or the executive branch comply with the constitution.
Read more: Sen. Chuck Grassley has some thoughts about Trump's attacks on federal judges
In the case of the asylum ban, the 9th Circuit court found that Trump could not bar immigrants who entered the US illegally from seeking asylum as it clashed with laws passed by Congress.
While Trump as president has broad authority to determine how to execute law enforcement, legislation must be carried out in cooperation with Congress.
"Our great Law Enforcement professionals MUST BE ALLOWED TO DO THEIR JOB! If not there will be only bedlam, chaos, injury and death. We want the Constitution as written!" Trump continued.
But, the judges in the 9th Circuit are also fulfilling their constitutional duty, according to Roberts and other legal experts, and part of their job is determining what jobs law enforcement professionals can do.