Mistaken houses, mistaken identities, a serious danger for us all.
Smash & grabs by the government with a lack of due process are the threat to everyone in every neighborhood.
If the accused don't get due process, what happens when a good person is mistaken for a criminal, wrongly accused, or there's a case of mistaken identity?Due process is a thing for a reason. Blackstone's ratio and beyond a reasonable doubt have always been the standard. Anything else is unAmerican.
The New Republic - Malcolm Ferguson/ April 25, 2025 - Trump DOJ Ordered ICE to Invade Homes Without Search Warrant The Justice Department quietly authorized immigration agents to seize power in arresting people under the Alien Enemies Act—no warrant required. In the memo, the Justice Department defined an “alien enemy” as anyone who is 14 years of age or older, not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, a citizen of Venezuela, and “a member of the hostile enemy Tren de Aragua,” per the Alien Enemy Validation Guide, a document that has already been slammed by immigration experts. The broad definition has already resulted in the apprehension and deportation of more than 200 men to El Salvador who just happened to have tattoos, like gay makeup artist Andry José Hernández Romero.
Back during the flood of foreclosures there were news stories about the banks sending people that wrecked the wrong houses by mistake! So if the government can just send people to break into houses without warrants at all, that's definitely going to lead to mistakes that cause injuries & damage to innocent citizens & then lawsuits that cost taxpayers. This smash & grab method of law is just not acceptable.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.
Bank breaks in, cleans out wrong house in Scranton - Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice Nov 30 2014
Scranton Times-Tribune - Bank breaks in, cleans out wrong house; balks at making homeowner whole by David Falchek November 29, 2014
NBC News - Foreclosure snafu: Bank contractors accused of cleaning out wrong homes Oct. 2, 2013
Forbes - America's Dumbest Banks: Bank Repos Wrong House, Destroys Contents, Then Refuses To Pay Owner's Losses By Rick Ungar, Jul 27, 2013
Local10 - Couple's paid-off home foreclosed mistakenly - SafeGuard Properties sued in 31 states for "legalized burglary" Roger Lohse Published: March 17, 2014
I started writing this days ago and then came the news that my fears are already materializing.
The New Republic - Hafiz Rashid / April 29, 2025 ICE Invades Wrong Home, Steals Their Life Savings, and Then Leaves A woman says armed federal agents stole from her family and left their home trashed. “I know it was a little rough this morning,” one of them later told her. The agents, who identified themselves as U.S. marshals, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and FBI agents, didn’t seem to care, waking the family up, forcing them outside in their underwear, ransacking the house, and taking the family’s belongings as “evidence.” “I told them before they left, I said you took my phone. We have no money. I just moved here,” said Marisa. “I have to feed my children. I’m going to need gas money. I need to be able to get around. Like, how do you just leave me like this? Like an abandoned dog.”
My letter to reps:
If the accused don't get due process, what happens when a good person is mistaken for a criminal, wrongly accused, or there's a case of mistaken identity? Isn't THAT the reason for due process? it's not about whether you think people are bad. They are already hassling and jailing citizens by mistake. Citizens have been detained and are even having home invasions where citizens have been assaulted and their belongings and money stolen.
I have had ambulances, police, and parole officers show up at my house because there's another house in town with the same number and a similar street name so I'm really worried. I remember the stories a decade ago about banks ransacking the wrong house for foreclosure, including here in Scranton.
This will lead to injuries of both citizens and or LE, but at a minimum property damage and will be litigated, the government will have to pay settlements costing taxpayers. Or worse if people never get due process. Due process is a thing for a reason. Blackstone's ratio and beyond a reasonable doubt have always been the standard. Anything else is unAmerican. This central government smash & grab policy is unacceptable government overreach.
Please feel free to repurpose for your own letters to reps.
Blackstone's ratio From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In criminal law, Blackstone's ratio (more recently referred to sometimes as Blackstone's formulation) is the idea that: It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.
Reasonable doubt From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems.