A man named Abrgeo Garcia—now known in some circles simply as “the Maryland guy”—has become the center of a national storm over immigration, legality, and rights. But beneath the political noise lies a simple constitutional question: If someone is in the United States illegally, do they still have the right to due process?
Yes. Unequivocally, yes.
It might surprise some Americans to learn that the U.S. Constitution protects not just citizens but all persons within our borders. That includes people here on visas, permanent residents, tourists, and yes—even undocumented immigrants also known as illegal aliens.
The Fifth Amendment declares that “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” The Fourteenth Amendment reaffirms that no state shall do the same. Nowhere does the Constitution limit these protections to U.S. citizens. That’s not an accident. It’s a deliberate design, rooted in our founding principles of fairness, human dignity, and the rule of law.
This isn’t a fringe interpretation. The U.S. Supreme Court has reaffirmed this principle again and again. In Plyler v. Doe(1982), the Court ruled that undocumented children had the right to attend public school because they are still “persons” under the Constitution. And in Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), the Court held that even non-citizens detained for deportation are entitled to due process protections.
Due process doesn’t guarantee anyone a right to stay in the United States permanently. It guarantees a process—a hearing, a fair legal proceeding, a chance to make their case. That’s it. And that’s everything.
So when politicians, media figures, or neighbors argue that people like Abrgeo Garcia should be deported without a hearing, or that he doesn’t “deserve” rights because of how he entered the country, they aren’t just misunderstanding immigration law—they’re rejecting the Constitution itself.
America is a nation of laws. If we abandon the Constitution when it’s inconvenient, or only apply it to the people we like, then we’ve lost what makes those laws matter in the first place.
Whether you support stricter border enforcement or broader immigration reform, the Constitution still stands. And under it, Abrgeo Garcia—and everyone else in this country—is entitled to due process.
That’s not just legal theory. It’s American principle.
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