TOI correspondent from Washington: In an escalating executive vs judiciary battle that began at 2am EST Saturday, a federal judge directed US govt to turn around flights carrying illegal immigrants that were already in the air after President Donald Trump invoked a 1798 law to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Judge James Boasberg, chief judge in the nation’s capital, blocked Trump officials from deporting five Venezuelans — later expanding it to all deportees — under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act proclamation that the US president invoked on Friday, saying they could face persecution and worse in their home country. The judge said he heard that “flights are actively departing” and ordered officials to turn around those already airborne. AP said Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order. Officials too said deportations took place despite the judge’s ruling. Secretary of state Marco Rubio wrote on X that the US “sent 2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted back to face justice in El Salvador.” “Also, as promised by @POTUS, we sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua, which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars.” El Salvador confirmed the arrival.
In an extraordinary outburst echoing the charges against a self-deporting Indian scholar Ranjani Srinivasan, who was described as a terrorist sympathiser, a Trump administration official then accused the judge of supporting terrorists. “Tonight, a DC trial judge supported Tren de Aragua terrorists over the safety of Americans…. This order disregards well-established authority regarding President Trump’s power, and it puts the public and law enforcement at risk,” attorney general Pam Btondi said.
The Act deployed by Trump has been used only three times before to bar citizens of hostile enemy govts to US — the last time during WWII when Washington incarcerated more than 100,000 US citizens of Japanese and Italian origin. The White House in fact invoked the Act on Friday to get around legal hurdles and surreptitiously fly out deportees but activists thwarted the move by moving court late night.
The administration said it will appeal the ruling, among several relating to immigration and a raft of other issues that have gone against it, leading to frustration on part of the president and his associates about “activist judges” who they say need to be impeached for thwarting executive decisions. “We must impeach judges who are grossly undermining the will of the people and destroying America. It is the only way,” said tech honco and a close Trump aide Elon Musk.