@RonaldKlain @careaware Due process is so ingrained on our psyches that most of us can't even IMAGINE not being able to provide proof of citizenship. We have never lived in a world where we were denied our rights. We have no frame of reference.
So, let's try a little thought experiment.
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So, let's try a little thought experiment.
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@RonaldKlain @careaware Imagine it's a typical work day for you. You're ready for work. You have your phone, keys, and wallet. You walk out the door and head to work. No problem. You've done this thousands of times. Everything is normal right up to the moment you reach the door of your job.
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2/
@RonaldKlain @careaware Suddenly, an SUV pulls up and three or four strangers pile out and start shouting at you.
You don't understand what they're saying and you just freeze. Why are they yelling at you? You haven't done anything wrong.
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You don't understand what they're saying and you just freeze. Why are they yelling at you? You haven't done anything wrong.
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@RonaldKlain @careaware They grab you, lock cuffs around your wrists, and shove you into the SUV.
You beg for an explanation but they ignore you. Instead they drive you to a place you've never seen before.
Your phone, keys, and wallet are taken from you and you're fingerprinted and photographed.
4/
You beg for an explanation but they ignore you. Instead they drive you to a place you've never seen before.
Your phone, keys, and wallet are taken from you and you're fingerprinted and photographed.
4/
@RonaldKlain @careaware They don't ask any questions; they ignore your questions and your requests for a phone.
Instead, they make you strip, put on a jumpsuit, and lock you in a cell.
You're in that cell for days, fed the same meals over and over. You lose track of time.
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Instead, they make you strip, put on a jumpsuit, and lock you in a cell.
You're in that cell for days, fed the same meals over and over. You lose track of time.
5/
@RonaldKlain @careaware Then, one day they come for you. Good, you think, now I'm going to get a chance to tell my story, call my family, call a lawyer.
But that doesn't happen.
Instead, you're taken to the airport and put on a plane. No explanations.
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But that doesn't happen.
Instead, you're taken to the airport and put on a plane. No explanations.
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@RonaldKlain @careaware When that plane lands, you're released from the cuffs that confined you, taken off the plane, and abandoned. You don't even know where you are.
If you're lucky, the people there might speak English, the only language you know.
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If you're lucky, the people there might speak English, the only language you know.
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@RonaldKlain @careaware Eventually, you find out that you're in the country your ancestors came from and that your birth country deported you there without DUE PROCESS.
You don't have your wallet. Your birth certificate. Or your Social Security card.
Prove you're American. Try it.
End.
You don't have your wallet. Your birth certificate. Or your Social Security card.
Prove you're American. Try it.
End.
