A Justice Department lawyer has maintained that the deportation flights were carried out legally.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said on Friday that President Donald Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enermies Act to deport alleged Tren de Aragua gang members has “incredibly troublesome” policy implications as the judge considers whether the Trump administration flouted his order to halt the deportation flights.
During a hearing, Boasberg asked whether the government would allow Venezuelan immigrants to challenge allegations that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang—a U.S.-designated terrorist organization—before being deported, given that the 1798 law invoked by Trump allows noncitizens to be deported without having to go through legal process during wartime or invasion against the United States.
“Why was this law essentially signed in the dark and these people essentially rushed onto planes?” Boasberg asked Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign.
“It seems to be that you only do that if you know it’s a problem and you want to get them out of the country before lawsuits can be filed,” the judge continued.
Ensign argued that the deportations were carried out in accordance with the law and that immigrants were able to challenge their cases through the country’s habeas corpus laws, which allow detainees to challenge the legality of their arrests.
Nearly 300 Venezuelan immigrants suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang were deported last week under Trump’s proclamation. Flights carrying the immigrants were already en route to El Salvador when Boasberg issued an order to halt the deportations and ordered the administration to turn around the planes.
At the Friday hearing, Boasberg vowed to determine whether administration officials violated his order, including identifying the person who ordered to ignore his order and the potential consequences of this. The judge has not yet made any final decision.
Boasberg had earlier issued a new order giving Justice Department officials until March 25 to explain why their failure to return the deported immigrants to the United States should not be considered a violation of his order. He later extended the deadline to March 27.
