An afternoon hearing taking place on Thursday in a federal courthouse became intense as an attorney from President Donald Trump's administration faced rigorous inquiries from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg.
According to Politico Boasberg, who was first appointed to the District of Columbia Superior Court by former President George W. Bush before advancing to the federal bench under former President Barack Obama, called for this hearing to determine if the administration intentionally defied his order mandating the return of three deportation flights. These flights had been transporting Venezuelan immigrants slated for deportation. as per the AlienEnemiesAct of 1798 , which has only been activated three times throughout U.S. history and was most recently employed during World War II. The administration stated that those who were deported were part of the notorious gang "Tren de Aragua." However, they later admitted that at least one man on the flights did not belong to this group. expelled and imprisoned in a large-scale prison in El Salvador by error.
On Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Drew Ensign stated that following Judge Boasberg’s ruling to redirect the aircraft until further litigation regarding the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act could take place, he informed three high-ranking officials from the State Department, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security. According to Politico, when Ensign mentioned not receiving any detailed information concerning the deportation flights, Judge Boasberg expressed disbelief.
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Did they share no information about these planes with you?" Boasberg questioned. "You were present advocating for the government, and they didn’t inform you of anything?
Ensign argued that he had "made every effort to get this information but could not manage to secure it." This statement seemed to cause the judge to raise an eyebrow and express disapproval through a headshake. Judge Boasberg subsequently noted that despite his directive handed out early on March 15th, the administration continued with the deportations. He questioned Ensign from the bench asking, “Wouldn’t the sensible approach have been to pause and wait for the court’s decision?” Furthermore, the judge suggested that the administration sped up their plans for these deportation flights in expectation of potential judicial override.
“If you genuinely thought that every action taken that day was lawful and could withstand a legal challenge, your approach would have been different,” Boasberg stated.
Eventually, Ensign conceded during the proceedings that seven women and one man who had been flown to El Salvador were brought back to the United States. This information was utilized by Judge Boasberg to demonstrate that his directive for deportees to return to the U.S. was indeed “practically achievable.” Although the judge did not rule on potential contempt charges against any Trump administration officials at Thursday’s session, an official verdict on this matter is anticipated later this month.
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Click here To read the entire Politico piece.
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