By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court for permission to resume deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law, while a court fight continues.
The emergency appeal to the high court follows a rejection of the Republican administration’s plea to the federal appeals court in Washington. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of appellate judges left in place an order temporarily prohibiting deportations of the migrants under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act
The Justice Department argued in court papers that federal courts shouldn’t interfere with sensitive diplomatic negotiations. It also claimed that migrants should make their case in a federal court in Texas, where they are being detained.
The order temporarily blocking the deportations was issued by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge at the federal courthouse in Washington.
President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II to justify the deportation of hundreds of people under a presidential proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force.
“Here, the district court’s orders have rebuffed the President’s judgments as to how to protect the Nation against foreign terrorist organizations and risk debilitating effects for delicate foreign negotiations,” acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in the court filing.
Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of five Venezuelan noncitizens who were being held in Texas, hours after the proclamation was made public.
The court set a Tuesday deadline for a response from the ACLU.
Lee Gelernt, the lead lawyer representing the migrants, said, “We will urge the Supreme Court to preserve the status quo to give the courts time to hear this case, so that more individuals are not sent off to a notorious foreign prison without any process, based on an unprecedented and unlawful use of a wartime authority.”
The case has become a flashpoint amid escalating tension between the White House and the federal courts.
Boasberg imposed a temporary halt on deportations and ordered planeloads of Venezuelan immigrants to return to the U.S. That did not happen. The judge has since vowed to determine whether the government defied his order to turn the planes around. The administration has invoked a “state secrets privilege” and refused to give Boasberg any additional information about the deportations.
Trump and his allies have called for impeaching Boasberg. In a rare statement, Chief Justice John Roberts said “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”
The Alien Enemies Act allows noncitizens to be deported without the opportunity for a hearing before an immigration or federal court judge.
Boasberg ruled that immigrants facing deportation must get an opportunity to challenge their designations as alleged gang members. His ruling said there is “a strong public interest in preventing the mistaken deportation of people based on categories they have no right to challenge.”
The temporary halt on deportations that Boasberg imposed is set to expire on Saturday, but the ACLU has asked for an extension until April 12 and plans to seek a more lasting pause on deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, known as a preliminary injunction, while the lawsuit continues.
