I understand why we are living in a State of Emergency and under multiple executive orders, but I am wary. With increased power comes the increased possibility for power-grabbing. History has shown that emergencies can lead to suspension of civil liberties.
One of the most famous examples is Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War, essentially silencing dissent.
During WW II, Franklin Roosevelt infamously ordered the internment of American citizens of Japanese descent.
These may be the two most egregious examples in US history of executive overreach.
Are current “stay at home” orders in this category? I don’t think so. They are in place to stabilize a situation that governments didn’t have a handle on.
Are Donald Trump’s coronavirus-era travel bans in this category? Again, no. Shutting down borders, whether internally in China or externally between countries in Europe, has been a tool employed by nearly every government in fighting this virus.
My main critique is that borders should have been shut far earlier. We wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in had that been done.
Is Trump’s 60-day ban on immigration overreach? Yes. Medical documentation certifying sound health is required to legally migrate to the US. If Trump were to order two-week quarantines for migrants, or require a negative coronavirus test, that would be fair. When my grandfather migrated to the US, he was quarantined because he had suffered typhus as a child. Again, a sound move on the part of immigration authorities. But an outright ban?
We rely on our Constitution and political culture to ensure that once the coronavirus situation has stabilized, government will recede from its strong hand.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t keep an eye on government. That’s our job as citizens. Because crises can and have been used to wrest power, the most grievous being Germany’s 1933 emergency decree suspending civil liberties following the Reichstag fire. (Was the fire set deliberately with this very goal in mind? Highly probable.)
Right now in Hungary, Viktor Orban’s government has used the coronavirus crisis to suspend parliament and essentially create a dictatorship.
I am relieved to see discussion and action in Colorado about how we move out of this emergency and back to government by the people.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at [email protected]
Copyright © 2020 by the Intermountain Jewish News
