The bill that quite a few Republicans couldn’t stand right before they voted for it passed the House.. Donald Trump will no doubt sign it into law tomorrow with fireworks going behind him and a ton of cameras in front of them. It was, after all, the entire purpose to this artificial deadline of July 4: it had to be a perfect television production. The bill he considers freedom for the country from high taxes, I imagine, he must sign on Independence Day.

Independence Day in the United States of America has always had some measure of irony to it, at least, and hypocrisy at most. That frequent reality is glaring this year not so much because of a questionable piece of mammoth legislation but because of what appears on its face to be a constant disregard for the U.S. Constitution, to enable a speedier dispensation of deportation orders.

Eight non-citizens convicted of serious crimes in the U.S. are now on their way or already in war torn South Sudan, where neither the U.S. government nor the South Sudanese has said where they will be and under what conditions once there.  Only one of the eight is actually from South Sudan and none were able to fully adjudicate a challenge to this third country removal before being sent there. They can be sent there while their cases are still making their way through the courts. And we know from the CECOT human drama in El Salvador how low the odds are on getting them back out of South Sudan were they actually able to win their cases.

Speaking of CECOT, the Maryland resident sent there after being mistakenly picked up by ICE in March says he was beaten and psychologically tortured at the facility before finally being returned to the U.S. Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains in custody in Tennessee where he is facing human trafficking charges the government brought when retrieving him from prison in El Salvador.

Somehow this is all now legal – despite constitutional amendments that say it shouldn’t be. This is not your grandfather’s America anymore, at least not at the moment. On this Independence Day, let’s celebrate the push to get it back!

Daily Quips return on Sunday…unless there’s breaking news.