The Rule of Law Is Not a Distraction

Susan Estrich on Apr 24, 2025

Gov. Gavin Newsom did it again. He is so busy running for president, so attuned to his general election campaign in 2028, that he has lost his way. It was bad enough that his podcast debuted with two MAGA-maniacs, Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk, with whom he was trying to find common ground. It was even worse when he turned on transgender Americans, calling their participation in youth sports "unfair." (For the record, in the state of Maine, which has become ground zero in the fight to "protect" girls' sports, there are a grand total of two transgender girls participating on girls' sports teams). But calling the debate about Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation "the distraction of the day" was going way over the line.

That is precisely what Newsom did at a press conference on Friday. He was trying to get headlines about the lawsuit California has brought challenging Trump's tariff. He wanted to make news on the economy, which polls show is Trump's greatest weakness right now, and -- as always -- the number one issue on voters' minds. You can always depend on Gavin Newsom to know what the polls are showing. He is that kind of politician.

But one of the reporters at the press conference asked him a question about an issue that has squarely and painfully raised the question of whether this administration considers itself bound by the rule of law. That issue is the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, sent to El Salvador because of what the Justice Department has conceded was an "administrative error" that the otherwise all-powerful president has claimed he is powerless to correct.

The courts have held otherwise. The Supreme Court, with no dissents, has ordered the government, and the lower court, to facilitate Garcia's return. The district court has insisted, with a note of anger, that the Justice Department inform it of what steps have been taken to secure Abrego Garcia's return.

For Abrego Garcia, the issue is not -- as Trump wants it to be, complete with doctored pictures -- whether he is a gang member. He is entitled to due process, which he was denied by his erroneous and summary deportation.

But the issue for the country is bigger even than that. It is whether we are a nation of laws or a dictatorship. It is whether the president, and the executive branch, are bound by the decisions of the Supreme Court and the federal courts interpreting the Constitution. It could not be clearer. The issue is the rule of law.

Immigration/deportations may be an 80-20 issue, which is surely Newsom's calculus, but the rule of law is an 80-20 issue in the other direction. Yes, Americans want undocumented gang members to be deported, but by the same margins, polls show that they also believe the president and his appointees should follow the law.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who traveled to El Salvador and spoke with Abrego Garcia, said this in response to Newsom's comments: "I think Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians who are all finger to the wind ... anyone who can't stand up for the Constitution and the right of due process doesn't deserve to lead."

Newsom bought into Trump's narrative, as if this is no more than a distraction. The issue is not whether Abrego Garcia is a gang member. The issue is not even his right to due process. It is whether this administration is bound by the rule of law. That is not a "distraction." It is the foundation of our democracy.

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To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.