Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) is trying to upend the narrative that the Trump administration is “tough on crime.” With its law enforcement focus on the initiatives of ICE and Trump border czar Tom Homan, the Trump administration continues to ramp up efforts to detain and deport undocumented migrants — notably sending alleged gang members (MS-13 and Tren de Aragua) to El Salvador for maximum security incarceration.
Some of those deportations, like that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, are being questioned in courts over whether the U.S. deprived the deported of due process they were owed — a notion backed even by the late ultra-conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
This is outrageous. Trump's goons posted the address of Abrego Garcia's wife and kids, forcing them to move for their safety. I do not believe this was a mistake. This was an intentional act of intimidation. It is evil. https://t.co/ml1r9kZS7D
— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) April 25, 2025
Working to remove barriers to the migrant raids and deportations — and to simultaneously portray Democrats as soft on crime — Trump issued new executive orders this week, targeting “sanctuary cities” and giving greater protections to police accused of misconduct. The latter order is designed to “unleash high-impact local police forces.”
“The result will be a law-abiding society,” the order says.
Rep. Coleman warns not to take that claim at face value, asserting that while the Trump administration is aggressive toward some criminals (and alleged criminals), it is happy to look the other way when crimes are committed by those who align with Trump politically.
“Don’t for one second let anyone tell you this administration is tough on crime,” Coleman captioned a post featuring photos of people pardoned by Trump after being convicted by American juries.
Don't for one second let anyone tell you this administration is tough on crime https://t.co/eaYPSRqJmq pic.twitter.com/SgofGl9EfC
— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) April 28, 2025
President Trump has issued more than 130 Executive Orders in the first 100 days of his second term, “flooding the zone” as his former advisor Steve Bannon has advised.
One result of the flood has been that the pardoning of more than 1,500 Jan 6ers during his first week in office — considered by critics an egregious breach of justice and a mockery of due process — no longer receives attention.
Coleman wants people to remember it and to see it as an example not of “law and order” that Trump claims to enforce — but instead as an example of selective justice exacted by executive fiat.
Coleman has also posted claiming that Trump is in “open defiance” of the Supreme Court.
Trump is in open defiance of the Supreme Court. His administration is willfully ignoring a Supreme Court order.
— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) April 28, 2025
There is simply no way to interpret this order as allowing the government to do nothing to fix what they have admitted multiple times was an error. https://t.co/1Gqvkw84qg pic.twitter.com/9v5cvo58wq
For decades, Republicans have effectively presented themselves as the party of “law and order.” It is branding which has been internalized by much of the American public. Even as Democrats argue there is little evidence for the claim, it remains the default presumption of a large segment of the voting public.
The GOP branding as the law and order party has been so strong that the Democrats failed to overcome it even when they ran former California Attorney General Kamala Harris — a veteran prosecutor with a public record of convicting and jailing criminals — against Donald Trump, the first convicted felon to be elected president.
Trump won the election with the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), though many law enforcement officials condemned the FOP’s Trump endorsement — especially because of Trump’s portrayal of those who attacked Capitol police forces on January 6 as victims and hostages.
