OPINION: Trump's lack of respect for law drives Republicans from party

In high school I was so politically unaware that I couldn’t tell the difference between a Democrat, a Republican or a member of the Brady Bunch. Didn’t really care. But just for fun and to anger my very Democratic mother, I thought it be funny to register as a Republican. I didn’t eat for a month.

When the 1980s and Ronald Reagan dawned, I saw that, despite my poor attempt at humor, I made the right choice. Lately however, because I feel Reagan’s Republican Party has been hijacked by something unholy, I am finding myself siding with Mr. Trump’s critics.

I spent my life in law enforcement and still consider myself a Republican in good standing, but I find this case involving Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia disturbing. The Maryland man was granted a status similar to asylum, and the Trump administration admits they mistakenly deported him to El Salvador; the one country he legally could not be deported to.

Most of my tirades in this paper over the last few years have been fairly conservative, from opposing the legalization of marijuana to backing up qualified immunity for police officers. So why should I care about some questionable guy from Maryland who may or may not have a checkered past who was running from criminals in El Salvador. All police should. Because we need due process more than ever.

The Trump administration has already shown that it does not care about the rule of law. Due process is fundamental to the rule of law. Rule of law is fundamental to America. I don’t know how many times as a cop I knew the person I was facing in court with his $10 haircut and his JCPenney off-the-rack suit was not the same dirt bag who I faced on the street, and more than once cursed the lawyers. But law enforcement needs the rule of law and due process more than ever. Mr. Trump supporters might say “President Trump will ensure that law enforcement will benefit from his interpretation of the rule of law.” Tell that to the Capitol Police officers who were abandoned by Mr. Trump with the pardons of the January 6 thugs. If you in your capacity as law enforcement ever make a decision that is unpopular with the MAGA crowd, you could be as abandoned as Mr. Garcia.

We tend to judge people based on who supports or opposes them and we police officers are no different. We look at left-leaning groups — the ACLU, immigrant rights groups, CNN, etc. supporting Mr. Garcia and think we as cops shouldn’t care what happens to him. Here’s why we should. Law enforcement dwells in an environment where our motivations, judgment and decisions are always questioned. If Trump and his crowd are the one doing the questioning, we’re going to need those pesky anti-Trump concepts such as rule of law and due process.