Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement on Tuesday pushing back on President Donald Trump after he called for the impeachment of an Obama-appointed judge, who temporarily blocked the Republican administration from invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan illegal immigrants associated with the Tren de Aragua gang.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Earlier in the day, Trump blasted U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of Washington, D.C., as a “troublemaker” and “agitator” who wasn’t elected in an “overwhelming mandate” by the American people to curb illegal immigration.
“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” the president posted in part on his Truth Social platform.
Over the weekend, Judge Boasberg blocked the Trump administration for 14 days from invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport criminal aliens while he considers whether the use of the 18th-century wartime law was illegal. In his order, he demanded the immediate return of airplanes full of gang members who were already headed toward El Salvador.
The White House justified its decision to carry on with the deportation operation on the basis that the judge didn’t issue the written order until after the planes were already en route to Central America.
“All of the planes that were subject to the written order—the judge’s written order—took off before the order was entered in the courtroom on Saturday, and the administration will, of course, be happily answering all of those questions that the judge poses in court later today,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.
The Alien Enemies Act has only been used three times in U.S. history and all three instances came during officially declared wars. Trump invoked the law to remove dangerous illegal aliens from the country, including Tren de Aragua members.
Last month, the State Department designated the Venezuelan gang, El Salvador’s MS-13, and six other Latin American cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Therefore, they are considered enemies of the U.S.
Trump’s call to impeach Boasberg marked an escalation in his rhetoric toward federal judges, who have frequently ruled in favor of nonprofits and Democrats targeting the administration’s agenda. The judiciary intervention has led Elon Musk, senior Trump adviser and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, to openly call for the impeachment of certain judges.
Representative Brandon Gill (R., Texas) announced his intent to to file articles of impeachment against Boasberg this week, a move that Musk said was “necessary.”
“The very worst judges – those who repeatedly flout the law – should at least be put to an impeachment vote, whether that vote succeeds or not,” the tech billionaire wrote in response to a statement from Senator Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), who said the Senate Judiciary Committee was “taking action” on Boasberg’s order.
Musk even responded to the chief justice’s short rebuke of Trump: “As Justice Roberts well knows, impeachment is a constitutional right of the legislature.”
Roberts last criticized Trump during his first term in 2018 after the president blasted an “Obama judge” who ruled against him. Roberts said at the time there was no such thing as “Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges” — only independent judges.