The Justice Department on Wednesday renewed its demand to federal judges to stop interfering in the president’s attempt to deport Venezuelan gang members, saying the roadblocks thrown up by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg are an unconstitutional intrusion on foreign policy.
Government lawyers said Judge Boasberg’s meddling is already “undermining” President Trump as he undertakes “high-stakes diplomacy” with Central American nations.
August E. Flentje, arguing for Mr. Trump, told the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington that Judge Boasberg’s interference has been “unusual,” “improper,” “extraordinary” and “sweeping.”
“All of the district court’s orders should be stayed,” the lawyer told the appellate judges.
The case, filed over the weekend, has quickly ballooned into a major battleground between the courts and the president, who argues his core national security powers are being trampled by an overzealous judge.
Mr. Trump flexed the Alien Enemies Act to try to quickly deport hundreds of Venezuelans deemed to be part of the Tren de Aragua gang, which the State Department has recently declared a terrorist organization.
The president has determined that TdA is involved in an “invasion” of the U.S. and its members need to be quickly ousted.
The administration says courts have long accepted a president’s determinations in those areas and there’s little room for legal challenges except for specific habeas challenges to detention by individual plaintiffs.
“Unreviewable means unreviewable,” Mr. Flentje said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, arguing on behalf of the Venezuelan deportation targets, said there is no invasion so the Alien Enemies Act can’t be used.
The ACLU also challenged Mr. Trump’s claims to broad foreign policy powers that allow speedy deportations.
“The implications of the government’s position are staggering,” argued Lee Gelernt, the ACLU’s lawyer leading the case. “If the president can designate any group as enemy aliens under the Act, and that designation is unreviewable, then there is no limit on who can be sent to a Salvadoran prison, or any limit on how long they will remain there.”
The appeals court will hear oral argument on Monday.
Judge Boasberg has certified a “class action” status that would allow him to protect all TdA members in danger of being deported, the government said.
He has also complained that the U.S. flew three planes of TdA deportees to El Salvador despite his orders to keep the planes on the ground and, if already in the air, to turn them around.
The judge has demanded details on the flights’ timing — information the Trump administration says would be dangerous to reveal.
“The district court has threatened to scuttle carefully organized removal operations that involved sensitive negotiations with multiple foreign partners. And the court is continuing to pursue intrusive inquiries that could hamper negotiations in the future,” Mr. Flentje argued.
