Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 67 martyrs in Israeli strikes on Gaza since morning.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in West Bank: Occupation executes large-scale operation in Al-Jamasin, al-Eyada neighborhoods in Old Askar Camp, East of Nablus.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One person killed in strike that targeted a motorcycle in Al-Mansouri.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone strikes motorcycle in town of Al-Mansouri.
Yemeni Armed Forces: The blockade on the Port of Haifa comes following the successful imposition of the siege on the Port of Umm al-Rashrash, which has since ceased operations
Yemeni Armed Forces: The Port of Haifa is now officially part of our target bank
Yemeni Armed Forces calls on companies with ships currently in the Port of Haifa or en route to it to take into account the contents of the statement and any forthcoming announcements
Yemeni Armed Forces: The imposition of a blockade on the Port of Haifa comes in response to the enemy’s escalation of its brutal aggression against Gaza and the continued siege and starvation
Yemeni Armed Forces: Our decisions and operations against the occupying entity will not cease until the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade on it is lifted
Yemeni Armed Forces: We have decided to begin enforcing a naval blockade on the Port of Haifa, which is now among our list of designated targets

Judge scolds DOJ lawyer for dodging Alien Enemies Act questions

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 18 Mar 2025 08:15
4 Min Read

The legal battle centers on the Trump administration's invocation of a 1798 law to deport individuals it alleges are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Listen
  • x
  • Protesters from a nearby demonstration arrive to watch a news conference with House Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and former federal workers at the Department of Justice, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
    Protesters from a nearby demonstration arrive to watch a news conference with House Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and former federal workers at the Department of Justice, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

A federal court battle is unfolding over the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law, to deport individuals it claims are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The law, which grants the president authority to expel immigrants from "hostile" nations during war or invasion, has not been invoked since 1941.

During a heated hearing on Monday, US District Judge James Boasberg pressed a Justice Department attorney on why the administration did not comply with his order to temporarily halt deportations and questioned why key details about flights over the weekend were being withheld. Boasberg described the administration’s stance as, “We don’t care, we’ll do what we want.”

Justice Department lawyer Abhishek Kambli defended the administration’s actions, arguing it had followed Boasberg’s written order, which came hours after his oral ruling on Saturday. He asserted that the written directive took precedence, stating, “We believe that we’ve complied with the order.”

Dive deeper

Boasberg dismissed that reasoning, responding, “An order is an order" and criticized the government for disregarding his initial ruling. He also pushed for specifics on the deportation flights—such as how many there were and whether any were in the air—but Kambli refused to disclose details, citing national security concerns.

“I am only authorized to say what we have said” in court filings, Kambli stated. The filing in question argued that the case “cannot be used to interfere with the President’s national-security and foreign affairs authority, and the Court lacks jurisdiction to do so.”

Related News

US shuts down Al-Quds Palestinian Affairs Office to merge with embassy

Trump team slams claim of abandoning 'Israel' over Gaza

Frustrated by the lack of transparency, Boasberg ordered Kambli to provide answers by noon Tuesday and to submit an official explanation for why the information was withheld in court. “If the government takes the position that it will not provide that information to the Court under any circumstances, it must support such position, including with classified authorities if necessary,” he ruled. After the hearing, he issued a written order with those questions, adding that the government’s response may be “sealed in part, if necessary.” Another hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs alongside Democracy Forward, warned of the broader implications. “What changes here … is the government’s apparent refusal to abide by the federal court’s power. Our country is based on the assumption that there are three equal branches … Once that ends, we’re in a very different situation in this country; we’re no longer a country based on the rule of law,” he said.

Wider context

Shortly before the hearing, the Justice Department sent a letter to a federal appeals court seeking to remove Boasberg from the case, arguing he had compromised national security by scrutinizing the administration’s deportation initiative. “The Government cannot—and will not—be forced to answer sensitive questions of national security and foreign relations in a rushed posture,” the letter stated. It further argued that the judge’s inquiry posed “grave risks to the conduct of the Government in areas wholly unsuited to micromanagement supervision by a district court judge.”

The legal battle follows Boasberg’s emergency ruling on Saturday, which temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting individuals under the Alien Enemies Act.

During that hearing, he ordered a Justice Department lawyer to “immediately” inform officials that any planes carrying deportees must return to the United States. However, the government later acknowledged in a Sunday filing that “some gang members subject to removal under the Proclamation had already been removed from United States territory” before the order was issued.

Boasberg emphasized Saturday that compliance was mandatory. “However that’s accomplished, whether turning around a plane or not embarking anyone … I leave to you. But this is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately.”

Hours before Monday’s hearing, the Justice Department attempted to have it vacated, arguing that questions about flight locations “implicate sensitive questions of national security, foreign relations, and coordination with foreign nations” that were “neither material nor appropriate.”

However, the judge proceeded, signaling an intensifying legal standoff over the administration’s use of emergency deportation powers.

  • United States
  • DOJ
  • Venezuela
  • Alien Enemies Act
  • deportation
  • 1798 law
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

Gaza and the logic of necropolitics: Sovereignty measured by killing

Gaza and the logic of necropolitics: Sovereignty measured by killing

  • Politics
  • 15 May 2025
Two F-35 jets arrive at it's new operational base Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah. (AP)

F-35 near-misses over Yemen signal new risks for 'Israel': Forbes

  • Politics
  • 14 May 2025
Abu Obaida

Abu Obeida posts shortly after Israeli reports about his assassination

  • Palestine
  • 15 May 2025
YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben-Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

  • MENA
  • 18 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Foreign secretary David Lammy leave after attending the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in London, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Labour Minister breaks ranks, blasts government over Gaza

China’s advanced AI may surpass US Efforts: Report
Asia

China’s advanced AI may surpass US efforts

A Boeing 777X is brought on the runway ahead of a display flight, at the Farnborough Air Show fair in Farnborough, England, Tuesday, July 19, 2022 (AP)
US & Canada

Boeing stock rises after Trump secures major Gulf deals

MEPs urge the Commission to act so that all EU citizens can travel to the US without visas©AP Images/European Union-EP
US & Canada

Americans race for EU residency as immigration doors begin to close

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS