A hearing involving the Trump administration’s deportation flights is the latest in a legal standoff that could make its way to the Supreme Court.
A federal judge grilled Trump administration lawyers Friday over their deportation of Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador despite an earlier court order explicitly blocking the move – the latest in a days-long legal dispute that could make its way to the Supreme Court.
During the motion hearing, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg sharply questioned Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign over why the Trump administration failed to comply with an emergency court order that temporarily blocked its use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua, from U.S. soil for 14 days.
At least 261 migrants were deported Saturday from the U.S. to El Salvador, including more than 100 Venezuelan nationals who were subject to removal “solely on the basis” of the law temporarily blocked by the court.
Boasberg used the first portion of Friday’s hearing to press Ensign for details over the government’s deportation flights to El Salvador.
“Why was this proclamation signed in the dark on Friday, early Saturday morning, and then these people rushed onto the planes?” Boasberg asked Justice Department attorneys. “To me, the only reason to do that is if you know the problem, and you want to get them out of the country before a suit is filed.”
Ensign was also pressed at length over what he knew about the deportations during last week’s court hearing, when Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt any planned removals of Venezuelan migrants subject to the Alien Enemies Act.
