During the hearing, the Trump administration repeatedly declined to provide information to Judge Boasberg about how many flights carrying migrants took off on Saturday, citing national security protections.
A federal judge on Monday denied the Trump administration’s request to call off a court hearing involving President Donald Trump’s use of a wartime law to deport hundreds of Venezuelan nationals, and whether the White House knowingly violated the court order – an extraordinary effort that came just moments before administration officials were due to testify under oath.
The Justice Department’s filing came shortly after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered lawyers to court Monday for a „fact-finding hearing“ involving Trump’s use of the 1798 wartime-era Alien Enemies Act, and whether the Trump administration knowingly violated his earlier court order blocking the Trump administration from invoking the law to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of violent gang Tren de Aragua, for 14 days.
The law has only been used three times in U.S. history, most recently during World War II.
During Monday’s hearing, which lasted about 45 minutes, Judge Boasberg at times appeared frustrated as he pressed government lawyers for more details as to why his Saturday order—which called for the administration to immediately return all planes with expelled migrants, including the Venezuelan nationals and alleged Tren de Aragua gang members—were not brought back to the U.
