U.S. judge orders flight details as Trump defends deportations
A U.S. judge on Tuesday demanded more details from the Trump administration on two deportation flights that took off this weekend, despite his order temporarily banning the removal of people from the United States under an 18th-century law.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C. on Saturday imposed a two-week halt to deportations under President Donald Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to declare that the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua was conducting irregular warfare against the United States, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
The judge asked the Justice Department to address why the flights went on to land in El Salvador anyway. The incident has fueled concerns that the Republican president is further pushing the boundaries of executive power and setting up a potential constitutional clash with the judiciary.
Trump on Tuesday called for Boasberg to be impeached, prompting a rebuke from U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts.
In response to Boasberg's question, Justice Department lawyers said in court papers on Tuesday the two flights had left U.S. airspace before the judge's written order was issued at 7:25 p.m. EDT (2325 GMT), and that his earlier spoken orders in court were not enforceable.
That prompted further questions from the judge.
Boasberg ordered the government to tell him by noon on Wednesday when exactly the planes took off, when they left U.S. airspace, when they landed, when the people on board were transferred out of U.S. custody, and how many people on board were deported solely based on the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
He said the government could submit the information under seal. The government has said that publicizing precise details could compromise its operations.
In an earlier court filing, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official Robert Cerna said a third flight – which took off after Boasberg's written order hit the public court docket – contained only deportees subject to separate removal orders, meaning they were not deported under the Alien Enemies Act alone.
On Monday, top Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez denounced the U.S. deportations as barbaric and a "crime against humanity," which denied them due process.
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