What
does, or should, an 800-year-old document have to do with the present civil
rights of U.S. citizens, asylum seekers, and others seeking to live safely in this
country? 
Painting of King John signing the Magna Carta
The
Magna Carta was first signed in June 1215, although the final
version was not issued until 1225, ten years after it was first granted, under
pressure, by King John, who reigned as King of England from 1199 to 1216.
According to Britannica, “By declaring
the sovereign to be subject to the rule of law and
documenting the liberties held by ‘free men,’ the Magna Carta provided the
foundation for individual rights in Anglo-American jurisprudence.”
I was surprised to learn, though, that
the opening clause of the Magna Carta states that “the English Church shall be
free, and shall have its rights undiminished and its liberties unharmed.” I
asked Claude (my AI “buddy”) if that is related to the principle of the
separation of church and state.
Claude
stated that “while the Magna Carta's church clause wasn't the ‘basis’ for
American church-state separation, it was part of a long constitutional
tradition about limiting government overreach that ultimately influenced
American thinking about religious liberty.”
The
Magna Carta was revolutionary in many ways, though, because it established the
principle that even the king was subject to law. In addition, key provisions
included protections against arbitrary imprisonment, limits on taxation without
consent, and guarantees of due process.
Last
week, the U.S. celebrated Independence Day, and it is noteworthy
that the American colonists invoked the Magna Carta against British rule, and
concepts embodied in the Magna Carta were included in the Declaration of Independence
and the U.S. Constitution.
Several
years before July 4, 1776, there was strong opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765, an act of the British Parliament that imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in
America. Remembering the Magna Carta, the colonists strongly rejected
“taxation without representation.”*
The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was also based
on the core idea of the Magna Carta, stating that the king could not impose
taxes without the "general consent of the realm." The colonists
viewed the Tea Act of 1773 as a violation of that ancient English right.**
While there may not have been explicit
references to the Magna Carta by the British colonists who initiated the
Revolutionary War, it is quite certain that their grievances against King
George III and the British governance of the Thirteen Colonies were based on
key ideas incorporated in the Magna Carta.
What about the current U.S. government
and the Magna Carta? It
seems quite clear to most top U.S. politicians (and their supporters) who are
not MAGA adherents that the 47th President is saying and doing
things that stand in opposition to the Magna Carta—and the U.S. Constitution.
Once again, Claude came through with a
list of “several areas where President Trump’s 2025 actions have
raised concerns that relate to principles found in the Magna Carta,” a list that seems completely accurate
to me. It includes:
1)
Due Process Violations. Legal experts say
that the manner in which Trump is targeting some law firms runs afoul of the
U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process. These violations
are even more evident in Trump’s aggressive deportation of immigrants.
2) Arbitrary Executive Action.
Directly related to the above is Trump’s executive order using a wartime
authority for law enforcement purposes, targeting people for arrest based
solely on their ethnicity/nationality. This is the sort of arbitrary action
that the Magna Carta sought to prevent.
3) Targeting of Legal Professionals:
The actions against “enemy” law firms, restricting access to federal
buildings, and terminating government contracts due to their association with
former special counsel Robert Mueller resemble the kind of arbitrary punishment
that the Magna Carta was designed to prevent.
4) Immigration Enforcement Changes: Trump ended the
policy from 2011, which prohibited immigration arrests in sensitive areas such
as courthouses, schools, churches, and hospitals. Currently, my church is
considering how to respond if ICE agents show up seeking “illegals” during a
worship service.
In summary, Claude
states, “The Magna Carta’s core principle was limiting arbitrary royal power
and ensuring legal protections.” However, some of Trump's 2025 executive
actions “echo the kind of unchecked executive power the Magna Carta was
designed to constrain.” That, sadly, seems to be the case, indeed.
_____
* If you need to review what the Stamp Act was, as I did, Wikipedia, as
usual, provides a helpful explanation (click here).
** For additional information about the Boston Tea Party, see my December 15, 2013, blog post (here).
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