Lankford: Illegal Immigrants Should Get Due Process

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) is drawing a clear line when it comes to immigration enforcement: yes, people who enter the country illegally should be removed—but not without a fair process.

During an appearance on CNN’s The Arena on Tuesday, Lankford pushed back on the left’s talking point that Republicans want to throw out the Constitution when it comes to deportations. The conversation was sparked by former President Donald Trump’s recent interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, where he was asked whether deportees would be given due process under his administration.

“President Trump sat down for an extensive interview with Kristen Welker at Meet the Press over the weekend,” said CNN host Kasie Hunt. “She asked him whether he would uphold the Constitution in providing due process to people who are deported, and his answer was not yes. Are you confident that President Trump will uphold the Constitution?”

Senator Lankford didn’t hesitate to defend both Trump and the importance of upholding legal standards, even in tough immigration enforcement.

“I am,” Lankford said confidently. “I think his answer was, I’ve got good attorneys advising me on all those things, and they’re going to make sure they get it right.”

But Lankford also took the time to clarify what “due process” really means in the immigration context—something that often gets twisted or oversimplified in the media.

“What’s been confusing on this,” he explained, “is some people see due process like us as American citizens, and that’s a right to a jury trial, that’s all those different things. That’s not true for due process for someone who’s not a citizen of the United States.”

And that’s an important distinction. While U.S. citizens have broad constitutional rights—including jury trials and full legal representation—immigration cases work differently. Foreign nationals facing deportation do go through a legal process, but it’s handled within the immigration system, which is governed by its own rules and procedures.

“It’s a different process,” Lankford continued. “It’s often just literally what people call an immigration judge, which is not a typical federal judge or a state judge; this is someone that’s in the bureaucracy.”

In other words, illegal immigrants don’t get the same courtroom experience that U.S. citizens do—but that doesn’t mean they’re yanked out of the country without a hearing. Immigration judges are administrative law officials who decide whether someone has a valid case to remain in the U.S., whether through asylum, family-based petitions, or other legal means.

“So there is a very different process for it,” Lankford said, “but yes, there is a need to give an opportunity for someone to be able to make an argument before they are removed from the country.”

That’s a message that may not sit well with the far-left crowd pushing for open borders, but it’s one that shows conservatives are still committed to upholding America’s legal system—even when enforcing tough immigration laws.

This conversation comes as the country faces another surge in illegal border crossings. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded over 2.4 million encounters in FY2023 alone, according to CBP data. Many conservative leaders argue that firm, lawful deportation policies are not only necessary but overdue.

Still, as Sen. Lankford points out, fairness and accountability are not mutually exclusive. Conservatives can be tough on illegal immigration and respect due process—no matter how much the media tries to say otherwise.