The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative courts in the country, recently denied three noncitizens being held in a private detention center a basic human right to due process. Why?

The editorial page of this newspaper raised the alarm on Oct. 27 in “How we treat detainees reflects on us as a society.” It went on to mention that this stunning decision by the full court actually reversed the finding of its own three-judge panel in July, which upheld the “unauthorized immigrants’ right to due process.”

Imagine that. The full 17-member Court of Appeals actually convened to debate whether their three brethren on the bench erred in their understanding of due process. Well, not surprisingly, these three brethren were joined by four other brethren who fully concurred with their judgment. But, alas, 10 brethren on the court disagreed and hence the judgment: Illegal immigrants do not have the right to due process in challenging their detention.

Say what? So, those in criminal prisons have a right to an attorney, but noncitizens in detention centers don’t?

And those in a criminal prison can be released on their own recognizance, but noncitizens in detention centers can’t?

Legally, civil immigration detention is supposed to be non-punitive, but it actually is. Detainees are being held in privately owned detention centers and treated as if they are criminals, without any of the constitutional due process protections in criminal courts.

Gotcha there, says the Court of Appeals. It’s the Constitution, stupid. You got to understand. The basic human right to due process protections doesn’t give birth to the Constitution. The Constitution gives birth to the due process protections.

Well, if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

GERALD J. MURPHY

New Orleans