http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/laura/supreme-court-hides-2025-s430.pngLaura Kiefert breaks down how the Court’s latest rulings - on mass deportations and mass firings - prove that what’s “legal” isn’t always what’s right.

LAKE GENEVA, WI - When I was growing up, we were taught the Supreme Court was the last line of defense for justice in this country. That when all else failed, this group of robed constitutional guardians would rise above politics and protect the rights of the people. But that ideal died a slow death—and its last gasps have become painfully obvious with the Court’s recent rulings favoring the Trump administration.

Let’s be clear: this Court is no longer functioning as a fair referee. It’s playing defense for a man who has made a career of bulldozing norms, ducking accountability, and weaponizing government against anyone who dares stand in his way.

Take the decision to greenlight Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act—yes, 1798, back when we were still powdered wigs and muskets—to deport Venezuelan migrants he claims are gang members. The Court’s conservative majority brushed past any real scrutiny of due process, pretending this centuries-old law somehow gives the executive branch sweeping power to make deportation decisions without meaningful oversight. Justice Sotomayor, in dissent, warned of the “grave consequences” for people swept up in this vague, unchecked dragnet—but her voice, once again, was drowned out by a majority more interested in empowering Trump than defending civil liberties.

And if that wasn’t chilling enough, let’s talk about federal workers. The Court just blocked an order that would’ve reinstated over 16,000 employees fired in one of the Trump administration’s so-called “efficiency” purges. No hearings. No process. Just pink slips. Two justices—Sotomayor and Jackson—had the guts to call it out for what it is: government overreach, trampling on the livelihoods of people who’ve served their country. But again, the majority showed where its loyalty lies.

It’s not with working people. It’s not with fairness. It’s not with the Constitution.

It’s with Trump.

This is the part that enrages me most: The same Court that micromanaged student loan forgiveness, that handcuffed the EPA, that nitpicked over the tiniest interpretations of federal authority, now turns around and gives Trump a blank check to fire thousands and deport people under a 200-year-old law.

And we’re supposed to believe this isn’t political?

The Court has become a place where morality goes to die under the weight of legal technicalities. Where cruelty is sanitized with precedent. Where silence in the face of injustice is disguised as restraint.

I’m not a lawyer. I’m not a scholar. I’m just someone who believes in fairness. But I can tell you this: just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s right. And what this Court is doing—again and again—is using legality as a shield for injustice.

They are enabling the rise of authoritarianism, not by bold declarations, but by a slow erosion of protections, a dismissal of norms, and a refusal to act when it matters most. They are telling Trump, “Go ahead. Fire who you want. Deport who you want. Delay justice as long as you want. We’ve got your back.”

SUMMARY

The Supreme Court was meant to be the last defense against authoritarian overreach. Instead, it’s acting like Trump’s personal legal team. In this editorial, I break down how the Court’s latest rulings—on mass deportations and mass firings—prove that what’s “legal” isn’t always what’s right. And how their silence in the face of injustice is anything but impartial.