In a panel decision, the Sixth Circuit held that the Justice Department can not close deportation hearings to the press solely on the basis of a blanket assertion that the defendant may be connected to terror. Instead, the Justice Department would have to show on a case by case basis why a closed hearing is necessary for national security.
Democracies die behind closed doors," wrote Judge Damon J. Keith for the unanimous three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Bush administration has sought, the panel said, to place its actions "beyond public scrutiny."
"When the government begins closing doors," the panel continued, "it selectively controls information rightfully belonging to the people. Selective information is misinformation."
Its a bedrock principle of our democracy that secrecy can not be a first resort. There are plenty of steps that the Justice Department can take and should take to effectively enforce our immigration laws - radically improved visa screening and tracking, and aggressive pursuit of visa violaters. Our commitment to due process is worth the risk of accidentally expelling a potential terrorist as a mere illegal alien. And premature expulsion sure beats not finding them at all.
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