Ever since coming to power, Donald Trump has been dealing with immigrants in a rather harsh and often inhumane way, and his Vice President JD Vance has been one of the biggest supporters of his moves.
Recently, in an interview with New York Times’ Ross Douthat, Vance made his stance on the immigration policies even clearer as he said that the judicial system seems to be wanting to “overturn the will of the American people.” He also said that the courts need to be “deferential” to Donald Trump.
It should be noted that what Vance said comes after Chief Justice John Roberts talked about the necessity of judicial independence amid relentless attacks on courts and lawyers under the Trump administration. The Chief Justice mentioned that as per the Constitution, the judiciary “is a co-equal branch of government, separate from the others, with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law and strike down, obviously, acts of Congress or acts of the president.”
He further added, “Its job is to, obviously, decide cases but in the course of that check the excesses of Congress or of the executive, and that does require a degree of independence.”
If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal.
If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal.
Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 9, 2025
However, during his interview, Vance said that he did not agree with what the Chief Justice said. Vance said, “I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment,” he said. “That’s one half of his job. The other half of his job is to check the excesses of his own branch. You cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people they’re not allowed to have what they voted for. That’s where we are right now.”
He also mentioned, “In fact, I think the design is that they should be extremely deferential to these questions of political judgment made by the people’s elected president of the United States.”
Vance then went forward saying that the courts are standing in the way of fulfilling Trump’s goal. He said, “I worry that unless the Supreme Court steps in here, or unless the District Courts exercise a little bit more discretion, we are running into a real conflict between two important principles in the United States.”
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To further support what he is saying, Vance added, “Principle 1 of course is that courts interpret the law. Principle 2 is that the American people decide how they’re governed. That’s the fundamental small-d democratic principle that’s at the heart of the American project. I know this is inflammatory, but I think you are seeing an effort by the courts to quite literally overturn the will of the American people.”
The Trump administration has already been accused multiple times of breaking the established laws regarding the deportation of immigrants. Trump also called for impeachment for judges who rule against him. The American President has also used the 18th century Alien Enemies Act to expedite mass deportations.
While the Supreme Court denounced the Trump administration for using that obscure act to deport Venezuelan and Salvadoran immigrants with almost no due process, Vance supported Trump’s actions, saying, “illegal immigrants, by virtue of being in the United States, are entitled to some due process.”
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He further added, “The amount of process that is due, how you enforce those legislative standards and how you actually bring them to bear, is, I think, very much an open question.”
Vance’s words show how he is completely against the idea of the judicial system holding up its integrity and independence and rather wants the system to work in favor of the Trump administration. It now remains to be seen how the Chief Justice and the judiciary respond to Vance’s accusations.
Scroll down for some latest images of JD Vance:
This afternoon, @SecRubio and I met with President Zelensky.
Our countries share the goal of ending unnecessary bloodshed in Ukraine, and we discussed updates on the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace. pic.twitter.com/uvrWASXKCw
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) May 18, 2025
It was great to meet with Prime Minister @GiorgiaMeloni in Rome yesterday.
Italy is a beautiful country and a great ally to the United States. pic.twitter.com/mqekocZfsw
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) April 19, 2025
