The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has rejected a motion from President Donald J. Trump‘s Department of Justice (DOJ) to stay District Court Judge James Boasberg‘s restraining order blocking the deportation of Tren de Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act. In a two-to-one decision, the appellate court found that “the United States [must] be at war or under invasion or predatory incursion” for the Alien Enemies Act to be used. The ruling suggests that if Judge Boasberg rules against the Trump administration, an appeal of that ruling could face difficulty at the appellate level as well.
“[T]he AEA vests in the President near-blanket authority to detain and deport any noncitizen whose affiliation traces to the belligerent state,” Circut Court Judge Karen Henderson—an appointee of the late President George H.W. Bush—conceded in the majority opinion. However, she added: “A central limit to this power is the Act’s conditional clause—that the United States be at war or under invasion or predatory incursion.”
On March 15, District Court Judge James Boasberg, appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama, attempted to order several planes carrying illegal immigrant members of Tren de Aragua—a violent Venezuelan criminal gang—to an El Salvador detention facility to turn around and return to the United States. However, as the planes were already over international waters, the order held no bearing. Subsequently, Judge Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order to prevent any further flights from taking place.
The Trump administration initially appealed the restraining order before Judge Boasberg; however, the far-left jurist denied the appeal. Consequently, the DOJ brought the appeal to the D.C. Circuit, where earlier this week, a three-judge appellate panel heard arguments on the matter and rejected the stay request late this afternoon.
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