The Trump administration on Monday oversaw federal judges seeking responses on whether the government violated the order by deporting more than 200 people over the weekend, including officials identified as members of a Venezuelan crime gang.
A hearing in the U.S. District Court in Washington escalated a dispute between the White House and the court that threatened to be a constitutional crisis.
Justice Department lawyers refused to answer detailed questions about deportation flights to El Salvador, claiming that President Trump has extensive authority to eliminate immigrants in little or no legitimate processes under the obscure wartime law known as the Alien Enemy Act of 1798.
The tensions between judge James E. Boasberg and Justice Department lawyer Abhishek Kambli revealed the possibility of further disputes on the road. Judge Boasberg directed Mr. Kambli to prove in writing by noon Tuesday – if necessary, directed that immigrants were not removed after his written order was enacted.
The legal battle for the removal of immigrants was the latest and perhaps the most serious flashpoint between federal courts seeking to curb many of Trump’s recent enforcement actions and federal courts that have repeatedly tried to curb an administration that has repeatedly approached refusing to comply with judicial orders.
Earlier on Monday, Trump’s so-called border emperor Tom Homan made a rebellious statement on television, indicating that the administration plans to continue such deportation despite court orders, despite lawsuits that allow one of its equivalent branches of the government to contest with others.
“We’re not stopped,” Homan said he was appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Monday. “I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care what the left thinks. We’re here.”
Homan said flights to El Salvador include members of the crime crimes of Tren de Aragua, and the public should expect more deportation flights “everyday.”
When the hearings began in Washington, Judge Boasberg said he had no intention of controlling merits as to whether the Trump administration is right in his decision to deport immigrants under the alien enemy law. Ultimately, judges need to decide whether the government is right to eliminate people based on the statute.
For now, Judge Boasberg was interested in a narrower issue. He wanted to grasp the timeline of flights to El Salvador to determine whether they were violating his ruling.
However, Kambli repeatedly refused to say anything about the flight, citing “national security.” He simply repeated the government’s position that it did nothing to violate Judge Boasberg’s order.
Even before the hearing began, Justice Department officials tried to cancel it, writing Boasberg to the judge late in the afternoon to inform him that he had no point in coming to court as he had no intention of providing him with additional information about deportation flights.
In an even more surprising move, the department sent a letter to the federal appeals court sitting above Judge Boasberg, asking him to banish him completely from the process by citing what he described as a “very unusual and inappropriate procedure” in the handling of the case.
Several times during Monday’s hearing it was revealed that two very different perspectives on the case were in dispute in court.
Judge Boasberg was looking for the facts of what happened on the ground. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice tried to avoid saying anything.
When Judge Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order against the removal over the weekend, he said the plane carrying multiple people suspected of being members of a Venezuelan gang must return to the United States “but it prefers the plane or not.”
The White House denied that Judge Boasberg violated the order, claiming that the deportation service had departed the US soil before filing the written order.
In a court filing early Monday, some deported Venezuelan lawyers said the White House dismissed the publication of the oral version of the same decision around 6:45pm, claiming that Judge Boasberg’s order was published in the form written on Saturday at 7:26pm.
Although there are significant differences between written and verbal versions of the order, the written version did not include instructions for pulling the plane back. Trump officials say they recognize the written order as a definitive decision in the case.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed on Monday that there were questions about whether oral orders have the same weight as written orders.
In a later courtroom, Judge Boasberg pushed back the administration’s argument.
“It’s a stretch of heckuva,” he said of the government’s attempt to distinguish his written ruling from verbal rulings.
Trump administration officials also suggest that Judge Boasberg’s order will not apply to planes that have already crossed international waters when the written decision is taken.
Judge Boasberg said Monday that the issue is that the plane itself has authority over officials making decisions about the plane, even if it is outside of US territory.
The deportation and resistance presented to the judicial division have prompted criticism that the administration is moving its agenda to the courts without concern.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have accused the Trump administration of being “another illegal and brave grab for power” in the progress of deportation.
“We cannot allow Trump to underestimate rules and legitimate procedures,” Senate Democrats said in a statement Monday. “We all, including the courts, must continue to hold this administration accountable and prevent the Trump administration from stealing us on dark and dangerous roads.”
Levitt told reporters Monday that more than 260 exiled migrants had 137 people removed through the Alien Enemy Act of 1798. The additional 101 were Venezuelans deported under normal immigration procedures. Levitt said a further 23 people were members of Salvador’s gang Mala Salvattorcha, or MS-13.
The United States is paying $6 million to El Salvador to take over the exile, Leavitt said. She explained that Decorty’s group is responsible for a variety of violent crimes, including murder and sexual abuse, but the administration has not released extensive details about each deportee, nor has it provided evidence of gang affiliation. Levitt made no promise to release the names of each and every one of them who was deported through alien enemy laws.
The deportation to El Salvador was just one example of the regime’s conflict with the judicial division.
Trump himself expressed skepticism about the verdict last week after a federal judge in California ordered the administration to rehire thousands of probational workers. Trump told reporters Sunday night that the judge “has placed himself in the position of US president elected with nearly 80 million votes.”
Over the weekend, a federal judge in Boston said he had reason to believe the Trump administration intentionally opposed the order to provide court notice before banishing a doctor who was detained for 36 hours in Boston when he returned after visiting a Lebanese relative, even though he had a valid visa.
Despite the judge temporarily issued an order blocking her removal, federal authorities flew Dr. Lasha Alawier, 34, a professor at Brown University, to Paris, probably on her way to Lebanon. The Ministry of Homeland Security said Dr. Alawyer was deported after attending the funeral of a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon in February.
The Trump administration faces charges in at least three other cases, which include failing to fully comply with the judge’s orders or dismissing them for violating them.
