Whoopi Goldberg has advised everyone to keep paying attention after President Donald Trump deported hundreds of Venezuelans despite a court order issued to halt the deportations. She suggested that anyone could be deported under the Trump administration. On a recent episode of The View, the cohosts discussed whether the deportations could be considered a “constitutional crisis.”
The president has claimed that the Venezuelans he deported are Tren de Aragua gang members. He invoked the Alien Enemies Act. US District Judge James Boasberg blocked the deportations, but hundreds of people were deported anyway. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has insisted that “the administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order.”
On The View, Whoopi Goldberg said that, for many people, the lack of transparency is a big problem. “Were these people that they deported already in jail, or were they people that they picked up?” Whoopi questioned. “Part of the problem, I think, for many people is you do stuff and nobody has any idea what’s going on.”
Whoopi went on to say that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers “swept up” many people “who had no business being swept up … So people are saying, ‘What is happening? And why are we paying to send the people elsewhere?'”
Other cohosts also weighed in, with Alyssa Farah Griffin saying she does not think “it’s at the point of a constitutional crisis,” but Sunny Hostin disagreed.
“I actually do believe that we are in a constitutional crisis now because there are three co-equal branches of government: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch,” Sunny said. “And what we are seeing is an overreach from the executive branch, from the White House, into the judicial branch.”
Sunny added that she believes people should be “very concerned that [the Alien Enemies Act] is what this government is using to deport people.”
Sara Haines said she agreed with Whoopi and that the lack of transparency is an issue. “Because if they were to release who these people were, what they did, and that it was confirmed they are part of this gang, I think anyone would get on board,” she said. “It’s the fact that they keep hiding it and making mistakes that makes me wary.”
Additionally, Ana Navarro said the way Donald Trump speaks about Venezuelans is problematic. “Every time he opens his mouth about Venezuela, he portrays Venezuelans as if they were members of a gang,” she said. “Most Venezuelans are great people, good, hardworking people who want to live in freedom, are contributing to our country, are contributing to our society.”
Because of the lack of transparency, Whoopi concluded that “you just gotta keep your eyes open, y’all.” She then explained why: “If they can just come up and take somebody because they’ve made a decision that you’re supposed to be that person, any one of us could find ourselves being deported to some country when we’ve never been there.”
“Don’t give them any ideas, girl,” Ana responded.
