The Trump administration could face consequences if it violated a judge’s order temporarily blocking the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, the judge said on Wednesday even as he gave the government more time to elaborate on the expulsions.
Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said the administration could choose to invoke the state secrets doctrine, which protects sensitive national security information from being disclosed in civil litigation, and explain why it was doing so rather than provide details on deportation flights.
Boasberg signaled he was skeptical that compliance with the order would jeopardize national security, citing a post on X by Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s with details about the flights.
The judge’s order marked a temporary reprieve in an escalating dispute with Donald Trump’s administration. The Republican president called for Boasberg’s impeachment on Tuesday, drawing a rare rebuke from the Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts.
Boasberg, who was appointed to the federal bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, is trying to decide whether the administration violated his weekend order blocking the deportation of hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members under an 18th-century law.Boasberg, a former prosecutor who was previously appointed by Republican President George W. Bush to serve as a judge on a local Washington, D.C., court, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the federal bench in 2011 by a 96-0 vote.
Following the order, three planes carrying deported Venezuelans landed in El Salvador, where the migrants are being held.
Boasberg sought details on when the first two planes took off and landed, and said the information would not be made public. In response, the Trump administration accused him of overstepping his authority.
“The pending questions are grave encroachments on core aspects of absolute and unreviewable Executive Branch authority,” the administration wrote in a Wednesday court filing.
Boasberg responded by extending the administration’s deadline.
He said he sought the information not as part of a “judicial fishing expedition,” as the Trump administration had asserted, but “to determine if the Government deliberately flouted its Orders … and, if so, what the consequences should be.” The judge did not elaborate on potential consequences.
TRUMP CALLS JUDGE ‘TROUBLEMAKER’
Trump critics and some legal experts have expressed concern over a potentially looming constitutional crisis if his administration defies judicial decisions, since under the U.S. Constitution the executive and the judiciary are co-equal branches of government.
Trump said in an interview late on Tuesday on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle that his administration would not defy any court orders and that he was confident the Supreme Court would rule in his favor in the case over the deported Venezuelans.
But Trump has lashed out at Boasberg. In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment in a congressional process that, although highly unlikely to be successful, would lead to removal, describing the judge as a far-left “troublemaker and agitator.”
Roberts, a member of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority, rebuked Trump for his impeachment call. Roberts said an appeal, not impeachment, was the appropriate response when disagreeing with a judge’s decision.
In blocking the deportations for two weeks on Saturday, Boasberg said the 1798 Alien Enemies Act did not provide a basis for Trump’s assertion that Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua’s presence in the United States was akin to an act of war.
In a court hearing on Saturday, with two planes carrying deported migrants in the air, Boasberg told Justice Department lawyers that any plane containing deportees covered under the order needed to return to the United States immediately. A written order hit the public docket at 7:25 p.m. EDT (2325 GMT), approximately 40 minutes after Boasberg spoke in court.
Those two planes landed in Honduras after the order hit the docket, and continued on to El Salvador.
A third deportation flight took off from a Texas airport after Boasberg’s order hit the public docket.
Justice Department lawyers said in court papers on Tuesday that Boasberg’s spoken orders in court were not enforceable and that deportees aboard the third flight were not being deported solely under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
Neither the Justice nor State Departments immediately responded to requests for comment.
