The federal judge in the deportation case of violent Tren de Aragaua and MS13 gangbangers isn’t making much headway with the administration, leaving him to only ‘vow’ to hold the Trump administration accountable if they violated his order last week.
But as he points out, they aren’t being terribly cooperative with his orders….
Here’s more from ABC News:
President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport more than two hundred alleged Venezuelan gang members is an “incredibly troublesome and problematic” application of the centuries-old wartime law, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said during a court hearing Friday, in his strongest rebuke to date of the Trump administration’s deportation actions.
Trump last Saturday invoked the Alien Enemies Act — a wartime authority used to deport noncitizens with little-to-no due process — by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the U.S.
“I agree the policy ramifications of this are incredibly troublesome and problematic and concerning, and I agree it’s an unprecedented and expanded use of an act that has been used … in the War of 1812, World War I and World War II, when there was no question there was a declaration of war and who the enemy was,” Boasberg said at Friday’s hearing.
The judge noted that the Trump administration’s arguments about the extent of the president’s powers are “awfully frightening” and a “long way from” the intent of the law.
He also vowed to hold the Trump administration accountable, if necessary, if they violated his court order last weekend blocking the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport the Venezuelan migrants.
“The government’s not being terribly cooperative at this point, but I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my word and who ordered this and what’s the consequence,” he said.
When Boasberg asked if the DOJ could vow that the Trump administration would hold individual hearings before they deport anyone under the AEA to confirm they are members of Tren de Aragua, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign declined to make that commitment.
“No, Your Honor, I don’t have authorization to do that,” he said.
Boasberg concluded the hearing without issuing any ruling from the bench.
Earlier in the hearing, the judge probed the timing and motive behind the Trump administration’s “rushed” deportations last weekend…
Ensign confirmed to Boasberg during Friday’s hearing that he understood the judge’s 6:45 p.m. oral directive to turn both flights around and conveyed that to immigration authorities, seemingly undermining arguments made by the Justice Department earlier this week about the timing of the order.
“Can I ask you now how you interpreted that statement when we had a conversation on Saturday?” Judge Boasberg asked. “Did you not understand my statement during that hearing?”
“I understood your statements and relayed your directive to the clients, which I have done,” Ensign said.
“What did you understand? Did you think that that was hypothetical, not serious, that it was going to be modified? Or did you understand that when I said do that immediately?” Judge Boasberg asked.
“I understood your intent — that you meant that to be effective at that time,” Ensign said, appearing to undermine the DOJ’s arguments.
Judge Boasberg also raised concerns about the timing of Trump’s proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act, suggesting it was “signed in the dark” to rush the deportations before someone could bring a legal challenge.
With the Trump administration invoking the state secret’s act, I don’t expect this judge is going to get very far. And hopefully an appeals court will shut him down.
As a side note, someone created bill to impeach Boasberg in Congress, but we all know that isn’t going to go very far…