The Roads to Plenary powers, Trump, and the Constitution

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Belle of the Ranch 6 min 1 speaker 6 chapters transcribed 1 month ago

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What did Trump say about jailing the Chicago mayor and Illinois governor?

Belle of the Ranch 0:01

Well, howdy there internet people it's Belle again. And welcome to the Roads with Bows. Today we're going down the roads to Trump saying opponents should be jailed, plenary powers, definitions, and the constitution. Okay. So a couple of things have converged and some quick Googling by people has led to even more confusion. First, let's start with Trump's statements about Chicago's mayor and the governor of Illinois. Trump posted to social media quote Chicago mayor should be in jail for failing to protect ICE officers. Governor Pritzer also. That's quite the statement. Calling for a politician to be sent to jail for failing to protect federal law enforcement or buildings may not be a case Trump actually wants to make.

Belle of the Ranch 0:57

Mayor Brandon Johnson responded by saying quote This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a black man unjustly arrested.

How is the term “plenary power” defined and why did it cause confusion?

Belle of the Ranch 1:06

I'm not going anywhere. That seems like it's a reference to the Central Park V. The governor posted quote I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full blown authoritarianism? The governor continued his statement. His masked agents already are grabbing people off the street, separating children from their parents, creating fear, taking people for how they look. Making people feel they need to carry citizenship papers. Invading our state with military troops, sending in war helicopters in the middle of the night. Arresting elected officials asking questions. Trump has deployed troops to Chicago. As we've discussed a lot, the Posse Comatatis Act limits what they can do.

What is the historical Supreme Court origin of the plenary‑power doctrine?

Belle of the Ranch 2:06

Because by American tradition, troops don't engage in law enforcement. Trump has brought up the idea of admitting he's lost control of the country and invoking the Insurrection Act. That's where things collided with another development. Stephen Miller was on TV and mentioned the term plenary. Saying that Trump has plenary power. That term doesn't get a lot of usage, and it caused people to start googling what it meant. Because words have definitions, but The most common definition people came up with is quote. Unqualified absolute. Obviously, Miller asserting the president has absolute power was unnerving for people. We just released a video that was made before Miller's statement that actually shows, no, Trump does not have absolute power of troop deployments within the US.

Belle of the Ranch 3:04

That was just a happy coincidence that the video was made already. But that video didn't get into the term plenary.

Why does the U.S. Constitution not explicitly mention immigration and how is it addressed?

Belle of the Ranch 3:12

Because it hadn't been used yet. So we need to back up. Planary in this context probably isn't referencing the dictionary definition of absolute power. It's probably referencing the Supreme Court doctrine. The plenary power doctrine is traditionally traced to an eighteen eighty-nine Supreme Court's ruling over the Chinese Exclusion Act. It's important to understand that prior to eighteen seventy five. Immigration was primarily handled not by the federal government, but by the individual states. Why? Because the Constitution literally does not mention immigration. The word is not in the Constitution. The closest you get is migration in Article I Section nine, which says quote The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit

Belle of the Ranch 4:14

shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight.

How do the 10th Amendment and federal‑state power balance relate to immigration authority?

Belle of the Ranch 4:21

But a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. That's primarily blocking laws against slavery. But migration is there, which shows the feds did at least consider some federal role possible. You also have Article I Section eight. Which establishes power delegated to Congress. Quote To establish an uniform rule of naturalization and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States. Naturalization is citizenship, not residency. The tenth Amendment says quote The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.