A federal appeals court has paused a lower court’s order requiring the Trump administration to grant due process to the Venezuelan illegal immigrants it deported to El Salvador earlier this year.
A federal appeals court judge appointed by President Trump rebuked the Supreme Court for blocking the administration from swiftly deporting a group of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act.
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) May 21, 2025
But that’s not all, he went on to say that the level of disrespect that has been shown… pic.twitter.com/9kiWD24WUn
The ruling is a blow against legal efforts to prevent President Donald Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to remove illegal immigrants the White House claims are dangerous criminals.
From Fox News:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the Justice Department’s request for an administrative stay, putting on hold a lower court order handed down last week by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg.
Last Wednesday, Boasberg ruled that the migrants deported solely on the basis of the Alien Enemies Act immigration law did not have prior notice of their removals or the ability to challenge their removals in court, in a violation of due process.
He ordered the Trump administration to provide migrants deported under the law the opportunity to seek habeas relief, and the opportunity to challenge their alleged gang member status that the administration had pointed to as the basis for their removal.
Boasberg had given the Trump administration through Wednesday to submit to the court plans for how it would go about providing habeas relief to the plaintiffs in CECOT, the maximum security prison in El Salvador.
BREAKING: A fourth court has found that President Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act was illegal, seeking to stretch the meaning of "invasion" beyond its plain meaning.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) June 9, 2025
The ruling blocks AEA deportations in the Western District of Texas.https://t.co/47Xf2n7Rxt pic.twitter.com/uRCYkJsQvo
The administration filed an emergency motion to halt the ruling on Tuesday. The purpose was to get more time to respond to Boasberg’s ruling.
The Justice Department argued that Judge Boasberg lacked jurisdiction in the case and that his order interfered “with the president’s removal of dangerous criminal aliens from the United States.”
Boasberg was one of the first of many to rule against President Trump’s mass deportation efforts.