The Trump administration invoked the state secrets privilege on Monday to withhold details from a federal judge about the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.
The move follows U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's demand for records on flights that deported alleged gang members despite his order blocking such removals. Boasberg, chief judge of the D.C. District Court, questioned whether the administration defied his directive to turn planes around, noting "a strong public interest in preventing mistaken deportations."
In a Monday filing, Attorney General Pam Bondi and other DOJ officials argued that disclosing flight details would endanger national security and foreign relations, as CNN reports:
"The Court has all of the facts it needs to address the compliance issues before it. Further intrusions on the Executive Branch would present dangerous and wholly unwarranted separation-of-powers harms with respect to diplomatic and national security concerns that the Court lacks competence to address"
The case has become a legal battleground, with Circuit Court Judge Patricia Millett comparing the treatment of Venezuelans to how Nazis detained in the U.S. during World War II were afforded greater legal protections, as CBS News explains. Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign responded by saying: "we certainly dispute the Nazi analogy."
President Trump defended the administration's approach to the controversial deportations while speaking with press at the Oval Office on Friday when asked if he thought he had the authority to round up and deport people without being in "no obligation to a court to show the evidence against them?"
"Well, that's what the law says, and that's what our country needs," said Trump. "Because we were, unfortunately, they allowed millions of people to come into our country totally unvetted, totally unchecked. So, you ought to ask...did Biden have the authority to do something that's unthinkable? Have open borders where millions of people poured into our country totally unvetted and totally unchecked?"
Trump further dismissed legal challenges, asserting that judges should not override executive decisions on deportations. "These are hard, tough criminals, and we have to get them out," he said.
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