Image Credit: CC-BY-SA-3.0 / Matt H. Wade at Wikipedia
It is true that the U.S. Constitution protects citizens of the United States. It is also true that the U.S. Constitution protects all persons as well. This means that any person, regardless of their citizenship status, is entitled to Equal Protection under the law within the jurisdiction of our country. This is a founding principle of our democratic republic.
If a Syrian refugee is on a plane that lands at JFK then that Syrian refugee is entitled to Equal Protection under the law because that refugee is a person. Equal Protection means the refugee cannot be banned from our country based upon his membership in a group. This is why it is illegal for our government to ban persons from this country based solely on their membership in a group.
Our government derives its authority from the consent of the governed. When our government violates our founding principles, it is our duty to engage in civil disobedience. Our firm joins the other attorneys across the country who will represent persons unlawfully banned from our country regardless of their ability to pay for legal services.
Thomas Jefferson warned: “Those who sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither.”
