Trump's institutional clash with the judiciary arrives
It was only a matter of time. One of the few countervailing powers in the United States that could halt the autocratic drift of Donald Trump's administration is the judiciary. Although during his previous term he managed to place a majority of conservative judges on the Supreme Court—and it's worth remembering that these are lifetime appointments—at the lower levels of the judiciary, there had been judges who had exercised their independence and tried to stem the tsunami of abuses of power. However, yesterday brought a clash of still-unforeseen consequences. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan for "obstructing" the detention of an immigrant last week. Although she was immediately released after her statement, and Patel himself deleted the tweet shortly afterward for reasons unknown, the truth is that the objective has already been achieved. The goal is also to frighten judges and pressure them to stop exercising their responsibilities and adapt to the executive branch's demands.
The separation of powers, and therefore confidence in the independence of the judiciary, would be ruined. This is another step in the downward spiral of an administration that will complete its first 100 days next week after having managed to create chaos not only in its own country but also in much of the world, where it is endangering the economies of many countries with its erratic application of tariffs.
The internal situation in the United States is very worrying, especially given the way it is aggressively implementing its policy against the rights of minorities, the disadvantaged, and freedom of expression and thought. At the center of its attacks are immigrants, whom it pursues, often bypassing even the most basic legal or humanitarian procedures. The operation against Judge Dugan, whose outcome remains to be seen, sets an important precedent. According to the FBI and the Attorney General's Office, she is accused of confronting agents who had entered her courthouse to seize a Mexican immigrant who was there on minor charges and then facilitating his exit through another door. Immigration agents are using the courthouses to try to "hunt down" immigrants who come for a specific reason. Since this can lead to disturbances or security problems, in addition to undermining judicial independence and the power of judges in their chambers, it has caused much unrest among the judges, who refuse to allow proceedings to take place inside the courtrooms. The judge's arrest is therefore interpreted as a warning to intimidate the rest.
The politics of fear of the Trump administration, however, goes a step further. In all areas. With universities, scientists, foreign students, journalists, and everyone who stands up to him. If judges now also allow themselves to be trampled on, the future of the United States as a democratic country will be, more than ever, in question.