DOJ urges court to allow deportation of Venezuelans
Attorney general says judge interfered with presidential authority
By: Bart Jansen
USA Today
WASHINGTON - Justice Department lawyers urged an appeals court Wednesday [03/19/2025] to overturn a judge's ruling blocking President Donald Trump's deportation of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act.
.....
The filing is the latest volley in an escalating legal battle over Trump's priority of strengthening immigration enforcement. Attorney General Pam Bondi led the argument at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to overture Chief U.S. District judge James Boasberg's March 15 [2025] order, calling it an "extraordinary intrusion" on the president's authority.
..... The 1798 law hastens deportations without hearings of foreign citizens of a country hat is at war with the United States or that has invaded the country. The government lawyers argued that it gives the president the authority to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan crime gang Tren de Aragua, which Trump designated as engaging in an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" into the U.S.
..... "There is no basis for a court to look behind those factual determinations,' the lawyers wrote.
..... Government lawyers also argued that the president has sole discretion over foreign affairs, and said revealing details about the deportations would be "catastrophic" to foreign relations.
..... "Indeed, the court's order is already undermining the credibility with international partners in Central America with whom the President engaged in high-stakes diplomacy, and it threatens to jeopardize delicate foreign affairs negotiations with law enforcement partners,: the lawyers wrote.
..... Before Trump, the 1798 law had been invoked only three times, all during wars declared by Congress during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.
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But Trump and his lawyers contend that Tren de Aragua is invading the U.S. for purpose of crime and terrorism.
..... A group of 26 states with Republican attorney general led by South Carolina and Virginia filed an argument supporting the government's "robust actions against gangs" that :are wreaking havoc within our borders."
..... "Each State is
directly impacted by criminal activity perpetuated by violent foreign gangs," wrote the official from those two states. "and each State has an interest in protecting its citizens form such criminal activity."
..... The GOP officials were joined by attorneys general form Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
..... Lawyers form the American civil Liberties union and the Democracy Forward Foundation representing the Venezuelans called the implications of using the Alien enemies Act against a criminal gang rather than a country "staggering."
..... "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 lawyers wrote in a filing Tuesday. [03/18/2025]
..... The appeals court is expected to rule this week. [03/21/2025]