Senior White House aide Stephen Miller on Monday asserted a federal judge did not have the authority to direct how the administration carried out the deportations of alleged gang members amid a clash over flights carrying deportees to El Salvador.
Miller spoke to reporters at the White House ahead of a court hearing over a federal judge’s ruling that directed the administration to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants out of the country. Miller and other White House officials have argued Trump was well within his authority to use the Alien Enemies Act because he was expelling members of the gang Tren de Aragua, which was designated a foreign terrorist organization.
“The judge issued his unlawful order without receiving any information on this terrorist organization and the diplomacy that has been conducted,” Miller said. “Let alone the fact that he’s trying to issue the movement of aircraft that is operating outside of the United States.
“It is without doubt the most unlawful order a judge has issued in our lifetimes,” Miller continued. “A district court judge has no authority to direct the national security operations of the executive branch. The president has operated the absolute apex of his constitutional authority.”
Miller said Trump will use a “full suite” of authorities in the coming days to continue to remove Tren de Aragua members.
Trump over the weekend signed an order invoking wartime powers to swiftly deport anyone suspected of membership in the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The process does not allow for a hearing, sparking fears it will lead to widespread deportations of Venezuelans without connection to the gang.
While an order from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocked the deportations from taking effect, the Trump administration was accused of not following the judge’s order to turn around any planes carrying Venezuelans targeted under that order.
The White House has asserted the planes were already off of U.S. soil and therefore the order did not apply. Some officials have questioned why critics would want planes full of alleged gang members to return to the U.S., but the clash with the judge has reignited fears that the Trump administration may choose to ignore court orders.
Tags Donald Trump James Boasberg Stephen Miller
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