US Sen. Bernie Sanders speaking in front of 5,000 supporters during his Fight Oligarchy Tour at the Stabler Athletic and Convocation Center on Lehigh University's campus on May 3, 2025. (Photo: Sean Kitchen)
US Sen. Bernie Sanders wrapped up a three day trip to Pennsylvania with his Fight Oligarchy Tour in Bethlehem on Saturday. Trump’s disregard for the rule of law and refusal to give immigrants due process were the main issues for many rallygoers.
The Trump administration’s flagrant disregard for the rule of law and refusal to give immigrants due process before deporting them were at the top of many peoples’ minds at US Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Fight Oligarchy Tour stops across Pennsylvania this weekend.
Sanders spoke in front of thousands of union members and workers celebrating May Day in Philadelphia on Thursday, and then traveled to Harrisburg and Bethlehem with Congressman Chris Deluzio (D-Allegheny) on Friday and Saturday.
“It’s not just oligarchy that we’re dealing with today,” Sanders said during his speech. “We are looking at an unprecedented attack on the foundation of American democracy and under Trump, a movement toward authoritarianism.”
Throughout his first three months in office, Trump has unilaterally attempted to dismantle government agencies without the approval of Congress and slash critical funding to states that were already approved by Congress.
His administration has arrested international college students for protesting Israel’s war in Gaza and wrongfully deported immigrants like Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a Salvadoran prison camp. Abrego Garcia had been in the US since he was 16 after fleeing gang violence in El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia was granted protection from deportation by an immigration judge in 2019, but the Trump administration still deported him and has since refused to follow a 9-0 US Supreme Court ruling demanding they facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
“He thinks he’s a dictator first of all. He’s not even following the constitution,” David Zellers, a retired PennDOT worker, said prior to Sanders’ rally in Bethlehem. “He took a vow to follow the constitution and thinks he doesn’t have to. Same with [Kilmar Abergo Garcia] who they sent down to El Salvador. All these prisoners that didn’t even get a fair trial.”
Harrisburg and Bethlehem are home to two of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable Republican Congressmen, US Reps. Scott Perry (R-York) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh), and Democrats are hoping to flip those seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
Perry won reelection by roughly 5,000 votes, while Mackenzie defeated former US Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh) by just over 4,000 votes.
Following Saturday’s rally, Deluzio agreed that Democrats need to fight back against Trump’s illegal deportations and the lack of due process for those who have been sent to El Salvador.
“They might point to different facts about this, that, or the other person they’re trying to deport. There’s no kings in America,” Deluzio said. “You have to make your case with proper process, no matter the kinds of allegations, and I think that should be something I would expect my Republican counterparts to stand for.”
“ If [Trump’s] really gonna stress our constitution, I would expect to see those guys stand and hold the line.”
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