Venezuela welcomes some new inmates: Trump and his court order “defiance”
I haven’t seen any polls on this topic, but my guess is that only the most “progressive” of voters are against sending these gang members back home.
For the most part, the MSM articles I found label this action of the Trump administration as the president’s defiance of a court order or ignoring of a court order; for example: ABC headline “Trump administration ignores judge’s order to turn deportation planes around”; the BBC headline “US deports hundreds of Venezuelans despite court order.” However, it appears that Trump neither ignored nor defied a court order; he and his lawyers anticipated it, finessed it, and responded to it as well. Like the deportation or hate it, it came before the court order and is a deliberate test of whether a president has this power, as well as whether a federal judge has the power to block it at all.
Axios (surprisingly) has what I consider a somewhat (not entirely) decent and relatively succinct summary of events. A few excerpts:
The Trump administration says it ignored a Saturday court order to turn around two planeloads of alleged Venezuelan gang members because the flights were over international waters and therefore the ruling didn’t apply, two senior officials tell Axios. …
The White House welcomes that fight. “This is headed to the Supreme Court. And we’re going to win,” a senior White House official told Axios. …
Trump’s advisers contend U.S. District Judge James Boasberg overstepped his authority by issuing an order that blocked the president from deporting about 250 alleged Tren de Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1789.
The war-time law gives the executive extreme immense power to deport noncitizens without a judicial hearing. But it has been little-used, particularly in peacetime.
“It’s the [legal] showdown that was always going to happen between the two branches of government,” a senior White House official said. …
They didn’t actually set out to defy a court order. “We wanted them on the ground first, before a judge could get the case, but this is how it worked out,” said the official.
I’ve read many articles about the judge’s ruling, and I have yet to find one that states clearly what his legal basis was for issuing it. I assume, however, it was the idea that the deportees were not afforded due process. Here the NY Post comes close to saying that:
The temporary ruling will put a 14-day restraining order on use of the wartime act, which the Trump administration hopes to use to deport any migrant it identifies as a gang member without following normal criminal and immigration channels. …
Boasberg’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward challenging the removal of five Venezuelan men under the centuries-old law — which was reportedly signed on Friday. …
The Alien Enemies Act has only been used three times before in American history, all during wartime. …
Trump’s proclamation’s language, however, contends the gang is effectively at war with the United States and Venezuelan nationals are now “liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies.” …
Trump signed a presidential order in January, designating Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization, clearing a path for immigration officials to start rounding up its members for removal.
I assume another of the questions for the court is whether the act is limited to wartime in the “formal declaration of war” sense, and also the aforementioned issue of whether a mere District Court judge can call a halt to such a deportation action by a duly elected president.
The left is in outrage and shouting “constitutional crisis,” but the Constitution is not being challenged, just the power of this judge, the interpretation of the Act, and the timing of the order in relation to the location of the gang members at the time. At least, that’s the way it seems to me.
RE: Congress’ power over judges and the courts
Former Speaker Gingrich was on TV today, talking about how the Congress actually has an array of ways it can deal with rogue judges and courts.
The first thing which comes to mind is, of course, “impeaching” a rogue judge.
But there are also other actions which Congress can take to rein these people in.
Congress has the power to “realign,”or to even abolish courts.
Congress can also just abolish/zero out the funding for a particular court.
Gingrich also recommended that Congress haul these Leftist judges in to explain the legal reasoning behind their rulings, and how their rulings square with the Constitution.
Unrelated but great news and a VERY interesting read about Mark Steyn’s suit: https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2025-3-14-qw44bfyfus1omeo4ao4zf20hjpmiv1
However, on a related note…
I saw a meme on “the Democrats’ Guide to ‘Is it Constitutional?'” with a flow chart:
Is it Constitutional?
-> Do you Like it? – > Yes -> It IS Constitutional!
-> Do you Like it? – > No -> It is NOT Constitutional!
Seems to about sum it up for them…
A link to the Alien and Sedition Acts per the National Archives is here: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts
Relevant clauses would include this from section 1: in essence, if the President deems an alien dangerous to peace and safety, he can order you to leave …
“That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States at any time during the continuance of this act, to order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States, within such time as shall be expressed in such order, which order shall be served on such alien by delivering him a copy thereof, or leaving the same at his usual abode, and returned to the office of the Secretary of State, by the marshal or other person to whom the same shall be directed. And in case any alien, so ordered to depart, shall be found at large within the United States after the time limited in such order for his departure, and not having obtained a license from the President to reside therein, or having obtained such license shall not have conformed thereto, every such alien shall, on conviction thereof, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and shall never after be admitted to become a citizen of the United States…
…but Section 4 suggests a court review:
“That the circuit and district courts of the United States, shall respectively have cognizance of all crimes and offences against this act,” but not necessarily of the order to depart vs. being tried for refusing to comply with the order.
Section 2 is more specific regarding those in prison:
“That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, whenever he may deem it necessary (for the public safety, to order to be removed out of the territory thereof, any alien who mayor shall be in prison in pursuance of this act; and to cause to be arrested and sent out of the United States such of those aliens as shall have been ordered to depart therefrom and shall not have obtained a license as aforesaid, in all cases where, in the opinion of the President, the public safety requires a speedy removal.”
I haven’t delved into the cases on this issue. A lot may turn on what does the nature of the “order” look like; did those who were deported know that they had a duty to comply or not? Curious whether some of Trump’s executive orders may have been sufficient to constitute the notice of the order from the President to justify deportation.
But this is lawyerspeak. In the real world of not addicted to politics people who will decide the mid-terms swing, a judge saying you can’t deport the gang bangers will sound nuts.
The DC Circuit issued an order for briefing I presume on the emergency motion to stay the order. You can find these “public interest” orders here without having to go through PACER: https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/orders/bydate/thismonth
Attorney John Hinderaker here quotes Trump’s Executive Order with reference to the 1799 federal law. His analysis is that the administration’s characterization of Tren de Aragua as a “predatory incursion” by a group sponsored by a foreign government has legal merit and is a valid use of the law.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/03/adios-tren-de-aragua.php
Trump absolutely needs a formal hearing before SCOTUS on the preliminary injunctions – somethings that’s a slam-dunk and there are many – that will put an end to this leftist farce. These judges are usurping constitutional powers not reserved to the judiciary for matters of law that don’t even involve their jurisdictions.
Either that or he should just ignore them. When asked he can say, “AOC said it was ok.”
hmmm, and pish-tosh, why must we note this is a “centuries-old” law? Let’s see, what else is like that?
Just the Constitution of the United States, right!?
I am reminded of a lefty narrative about Salvador Allende— that he had conducted his Presidency in a “constitutional” manner, in contrast to the constitution-destroying military, with their killings and decree laws.
Three weeks before the 1973 coup, Chile’s Chamber of Deputies passed by an 81-47 vote (63%) a resolution that is often titled Declaration of the Breakdown of Chile’s Democracy (1973). It accused Allende of systematic violations of the Constitution. Summary:
The Wiki article also has a link to José Piñera’s informative discussion (translated by José Piñera) of the resolution.
Constitution, schmantztitution.
https://x.com/TheBabylonBee/status/1901672770154672280
The same people clutching their pearls over Trump defiance of a court order (the horror!) were strangely silent (I could be wrong, but don’t think so) when Biden openly defied the highest court in the country when it ruled his student loan forgiveness was unconstitutional.
It’s Only Bad When Trump Does It (TM) writ large.
Our “freedom of the press”, an offensively seditious force, must be restricted. It has become an arm of the anti-American propaganda machine that intends the progressive failure into a Marxist-Leninist authoritarian state. Our press has become an authority unto itself.
Cicero has apparently never heard
Another partial story
https://x.com/MaxNordau/status/1901635253770297758
More speech is the solution along with a good slice of ridicule
Maybe more of these gang members will self deport. They can see Trump means business, as does their home country
sdferr: I’ll see your “couple of centuries” and raise you a millennium or three: “Thou shalt not steal”; Thou shalt not kill”.
Lab Rat: Might those be the same people who not long ago wanted to remove the filibuster from the Senate protocol only to wail and rend garments when they were denied the use of it this past Friday?
I wish they sold programs so that we could keep track of the players…
One question that I have is who owns the planes that were used for the flight. One plane was clearly marked as Colombian and the other two may have been chartered by another foreign party. So, perhaps the US government did not have the ability to command the planes to return.
The illegals have a choice now – stay and risk being sent to that prison where people do not leave, self deport and face whatever punishment the cartel may order, or try to disappear into the interior of the US or elsewhere in the world.
A back alley tat removal shop may be getting some good business.
With regards to holes and shovels, Trump keeps handing the dems the keys to the excavator.
Thanks to commenters for the legal research. Be handy in various discussions I foresee.
Lab Rat, I have seen analysis that concludes Bribem CLAIMED to ignore scotus but forgave loans in an area in which he had actual authority to not where scotus said no.
Perjury laws should apply to the media.
Didn’t Joe Biden effectively tell the Supreme Court to bugger off when they ruled his college loan waiver to be unconstitutional? Hell, even Nancy Pelosi said he didn’t have the authority.
Two things come to mind:
1) Article 2 of the Constitution grants the President total authority over the Executive Branch … effective the “owner”. “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” … for good or bad.
2) District judges are just that, judges of a district with no national authority. All these mid-management judges going pish-tosh to the President are like company foremen telling the boss what he can and can not do.
Only the Supreme Court has the authority to offset actions of the Executive Branch and only within the limits of what the Constitution dictates.
In other words
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1901755381321196027.html