A three-judge appellate panel in D.C. unanimously ruled against U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg in his recent effort to ensure “due process” for members of the Tren de Aragua gang who were deported to El Salvador.
Boasberg has attracted national attention due to his attempts to prevent President Trump from utilizing the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrants affiliated with gangs or criminal organizations. An appointee of Obama, Boasberg was ultimately overruled in a narrow 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Despite the high court’s ruling, the judge has remained resolute, as demonstrated by multiple legal challenges against the administration since the decision was issued. Previously, a D.C. appeals court overruled Boasberg when he sought to hold Trump Administration officials in contempt, even though his original ruling, which initiated the contempt proceedings, was overturned.
On Tuesday, Boasberg faced another setback when a federal appeals court unanimously determined that the Trump Administration was not required to comply, for the time being, with a judge’s order to provide due process to Venezuelan nationals deported to El Salvador under wartime legislation.
This ruling was issued just one day prior to the administration’s scheduled argument before a lower court judge regarding how to permit nearly 140 deported Venezuelans to contest their expulsion. All of these Venezuelan nationals are suspected of being affiliated with the notoriously violent Tren de Aragua street gang and were deported to El Salvador after Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro declined to accept them.
The men were deported under the seldom-utilized Alien Enemies Act, which grants the federal government enhanced authority to detain and deport foreign nationals suspected of affiliation with foreign criminal or terrorist organizations.
Tuesday’s unanimous ruling does not constitute a final determination regarding the merits of the case; however, it does establish an administrative pause to allow appellate judges additional time to evaluate the legitimacy of the underlying order.
Furthermore, it overturns an order issued by Boasberg in D.C. last week, which mandated that Trump officials provide the men with “due process” to facilitate their appeals against deportation. The Supreme Court has previously determined that illegal aliens deported under this act are permitted to appeal their cases, but only within the jurisdiction where their arrest occurred.
The Department of Justice submitted an appeal against Boasberg’s Wednesday deadline, contending that he lacked the authority to dictate actions to the U.S. government regarding individuals in the custody of a foreign nation, asserting that his initial order obstructed “the president’s removal of dangerous criminal aliens from the United States,” as reported by the New York Times.
Attorneys representing the deported Venezuelans have persistently challenged certain elements of the Supreme Court’s ruling, asserting that the Trump administration maintained what is referred to as “constructive custody” over them, as they were being detained in El Salvador under an agreement with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
