The Scariest Part Of Trump's Muslim Ban Has Nothing To Do With Trump

There are many scary implications of the Muslim ban that President Trump signed into law this weekend.

Aside from the fact that it will keep out a lot of good people -- many of whom have assisted the U.S. military abroad -- it brings up a large number of constitutional questions and privacy questions.

But there's one thing that few are talking about, which may have further reaching implications than any of the afformentioned issues.

Buried on one of the last paragraphs of several news stories on the ban are tidbits like this (this particular quote is from The Guardian):

"CBP appears to be saying people in their custody not 'detained' technically & Dulles international arrivals areas not in the United States."

No one responded to calls or emails with questions about the court orders at Dulles CBP or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the confusion played out in similar patterns at major airports around the country.

...

Rogue customs and Border Patrol agents continue to try to get people on to planes," Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, told reporters on Sunday morning at JFK airport in New York. "A lot of people have been handcuffed, a lot of people who don't speak English are being coerced into taking involuntary departures."

That's right, CBP agents in airports are deliberately ignoring court orders to halt the Muslim ban. They're going rogue and taking the law (or their misinterpretation of it) into their own hands.

This sets a very disturbing precedent.

If CBP agents believe that it's at their discretion whether or not to follow the law, and they choose to implement the law based on their own political views and biases, what may be next? What happens when other governmental organizations follow suit? The police? The TSA? The military?

Authoritarian regimes often begin when the military chain decides to follow the orders of one executive, ignoring the legally enshrined chain of command.

Now it appears that the structure of checks and balances that has worked for centuries in this country is falling apart after only 9 days under Trump.

But even if we aren't at the beginning of an authoritarian regime, the idea that these CBP agents feel empowered to take action based on their own biases demonstrates the crumbling of our most important institutions.

It is unclear what -- if anything -- will happen to the CBP agents who have chosen to ignore the court.

Trump is likely to throw them under the bus, like he does to many of his cronies. But if the law doesn't treat their actions seriously, there is a lot of trouble ahead.

Update: There are unconfirmed reports that CBP officials at certain airports are not only still detaining people, they're also detaining people from countries that aren't on the list.

Wanna read more on this? Check these out: Donald Trump Pal Anthony Scaramucci: 'I Don't Need To Defend [Trump] On The Merits' (Watch) (more); Watch Jordan Peele's Hilarious 'Get Out' Spoof Starring Ivanka Trump (more); Did Donald Trump Just Block U.S. Citizen Khizr Khan From Traveling? (more); Trump Close Pal Roger Stone Tells Woman to 'Eat S--t', Calls Her 'Ugly B--' (more).

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