It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution. Republicans need to act like it

This is the May 26, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“No matter what your immigration status is, you shouldn’t be treated with anything less than dignity in this country.”

—  

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who joined protesters outside Delaney Hall yesterday on the fourth day of a hunger strike by detainees 

JOE’S NOTE

“Anybody who’s present in the United States has protections under the United States Constitution.” 

Those are the words of Antonin Scalia — the godfather of conservative jurisprudence — after being asked directly whether the Constitution applies to undocumented immigrants. 

Scalia’s words, and the constitutional protections he spoke of, seem like relics from a different age. 

Judges’ orders are now routinely ignored; senators attempting to tour GOP internment camps are pepper sprayed; children and parents are randomly swept up in raids meant to meet quotas and enrich favored contractors. 

The Geneva Conventions guarantee the Red Cross access to enemy combatants during wartime. And yet U.S. governors, senators, and members of Congress who fund Trump’s internment camps can’t get inside to inspect the savage conditions. 

New Jersey’s governor was blocked by ICE officials from inspecting an internment camp inside her own state. 

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona have been blocked from entering internment camp doors time and time again. 

Sen. Alex Padilla of California was tackled, handcuffed, and detained at a Department of Homeland Security press event when the Hispanic lawmaker dared to ask a question.

These centers are black holes, with reports of human rights abuses filtering out much like the news of Hitler’s concentration camps started quietly spreading across Europe. 

So the question remains: What are Republicans hiding from Americans? 

Why won’t the president allow members of Congress to look inside? 

Why won’t Republicans in Congress demand it? 

Every GOP senator should remember they may soon be in the minority. It is in their own interest to defend their Democratic colleagues and the powers James Madison bequeathed to the First Branch. 

As Chief Justice John Roberts told the Trump administration’s solicitor general: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.” 

Republicans need to take both Roberts and Scalia’s words to heart. As another Supreme Court justice once noted, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” 

It’s time to let light inside Trump’s internment camps.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE COLLAPSES UNDER WEIGHT OF WAR

Source: Gallup poll of 1,001 U.S. adults, conducted May 1-15, 2026; margin of sampling error: ±4 percentage points