Migrants flown to El Salvador under Alien Enemies Act must be allowed to challenge their removal, federal judge rules
A group of migrants the Trump administration sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador earlier this year must now have an opportunity to challenge their removal under the Alien Enemies Act, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
The ruling from US District Judge James Boasberg said that US officials had 'improperly' loaded the migrants on to flights in mid-March and sent them to El Salvador's CECOT prison without giving them a chance to challenge their designation as 'alien enemies' subject to President Donald Trump's use of the sweeping 18th century wartime law.
As a result, Boasberg wrote, officials must find a way to 'facilitate' the migrants' 'ability to proceed through habeas and ensure that their cases are handled as they would have been if the Government had not provided constitutionally inadequate process.'
Earlier this year the Supreme Court, without deciding whether Trump had properly invoked the Alien Enemies Act, said officials must give migrants targeted under it a chance to contest their removal through so-called habeas petitions.
'Absent this relief, the Government could snatch anyone off the street, turn him over to a foreign country, and then effectively foreclose any corrective course of action,' Boasberg wrote.
Several hundred Venezuelan migrants were sent to CECOT in mid-March after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act.
Boasberg, the chief judge of the trial-level federal court in Washington, DC, was critical in his ruling of the administration's actions earlier this year, particularly given the fact that information that emerged after the flights occurred undermined the government's claims that the migrants were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
'Perhaps the President lawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act. Perhaps, moreover, Defendants are correct that Plaintiffs are gang members. But — and this is the critical point — there is simply no way to know for sure, as the CECOT Plaintiffs never had any opportunity to challenge the Government's say-so,' the judge wrote.
He continued: 'Defendants instead spirited away planeloads of people before any such challenge could be made. And now, significant evidence has come to light indicating that many of those currently entombed in CECOT have no connection to the gang and thus languish in a foreign prison on flimsy, even frivolous, accusations.'
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Army preparing for largest military parade on the capital's streets in decades, featuring 7 million pounds of hardware
Millions of pounds of military hardware are expected to roll down the US capital's streets in less than two weeks, fulfilling a dream of President Donald Trump but also an effort that has sparked concerns about how the roads of Washington, DC, will fare under the literal weight of heavy tanks and fighting vehicles. The largest military parade the city has seen in decades is expected to bring seven million pounds of vehicles and weaponry as well as a price tag potentially in the tens of millions of dollars, and this week the US Army has started reinforcing the roads that will carry the hardware downtown and along the parade route. The parade on June 14 will feature dozens of M1-A1 Abrams tanks and Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles rolling through the streets of DC, as well as Howitzers and other artillery pieces, officials said. Nearly 7,000 soldiers are set to participate. Most of the tanks, vehicles and equipment are currently en route to Maryland from Fort Cavazos in Texas, and will arrive by train at the rail station in Jessup, Maryland, early next week. They will then be offloaded onto flatbed trucks for onward transport to DC. All told, the parade is expected to bring roughly 7 million pounds of military hardware to the streets of the nation's capital, a non-military official involved in the planning said. But the US Army Corps of Engineers, which has been leading on the effort to protect DC roads and infrastructure, is confident in the mitigation efforts the Army is deploying to minimize damage – efforts that have cost more than $3 million alone so far, Army officials said. The total cost of the parade could be as high as $45 million, officials have estimated. The damage mitigation efforts include laying steel plates down on roads, particularly at spots where the tanks will make sharp turns; putting new track pads on every vehicle to relieve some pressure and create separation between the metal and the asphalt; and ensuring the tanks move only at a walking pace during the parade itself, the officials said. Col. Jesse Curry, the director of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, told CNN that the Army has worked extensively with various agencies and DC utility companies in its planning to minimize potential damage. The Army began laying down steel plates in roughly a dozen locations along the parade route on Wednesday night, Curry said, and is planning to put down matting at a staging area in West Potomac Park, near the National Mall, for the Abrams tanks to sit on before they roll down Constitution Avenue. 'Our concern from an engineer technical evaluation on anything below the surface of the road that's going to be damaged is very, very low,' Curry said. 'We've got the best (engineers) in the world.' The Army's 250th birthday celebration has been in the works for two years, Army officials said. But adding a parade was the Trump White House's idea, so planning for that began only two months ago. Trump's desire for a large military parade – featuring all of the military services – dates back to his first term. But it was scrapped at the time because defense officials said it would cost as much as $100 million and damage DC streets. This month's parade will focus only on the Army, making it slightly smaller and less expensive. The Army Corps of Engineers began assessing how to protect DC infrastructure during the parade back in April, Curry said. The initial worst-case-scenario estimate to protect DC streets was roughly $16 million, Curry said. That would have been the cost if the Army 'did nothing to mitigate' the impacts, he explained. Now, the estimate has dropped down to around $3.5 million, which will include the cost for putting down steel plates and reinforcing them into the pavement with railroad ties, removing the plates afterwards, and any cosmetic upkeep that needs to be done in the wake of the parade. Two people who are not in the military but are involved in the parade's planning told CNN there are still concerns among some agencies over potential damage to underground gas lines – particularly on the route from the rail station in Jessup to the holding area near the National Mall. But Curry emphasized that the Army Corps of Engineers assesses that risk to be 'very low.' The Army has consulted with the National Park Services, the Federal Highway Administration, DC Water, Washington Gas, Pepco, the Department of Transportation and 'all the associated authorities and utility companies that would have rightful concerns,' Curry said. During those discussions, the Army went over the expected route with the companies, looking at their underground gas and electric lines, which Curry said largely run under sidewalks instead of in the middle of the road. That alone mitigated some of the concern over damage to critical infrastructure, Curry said. 'If we're driving on sidewalks, something went really wrong,' he said. Curry noted that the Army frequently transports tanks and heavy fighting vehicles on trucks all around the country, without causing infrastructure issues. The parade is meant to tell the story of the Army through its 250-year history, beginning with the Revolutionary War, tracing through major conflicts and ending with present day. The parade route will begin near the Lincoln Memorial on Constitution Avenue, continue east to 15th Street, and end at the corner of 15th and Independence Avenue. Here is a breakdown of what will be featured: World War I A Dodge Staff car Renault tank World War II 6 Willys jeeps 2 Sherman tanks 2 Half-tracks 1 M14 high-speed tractor A 2.5-ton truck towing a 37mm anti-tank gun Vietnam War: 3 M151 jeeps 2 M35A2 cargo trucks 1 M274 Mule Gulf War: 8 M181 armored vehicles 2 Paladins 8 M2 Bradley fighting vehicles 6 M119 howitzers Global War on Terror: 18 Strykers Modern Era 1 6 M777 artillery pieces 12 M2 Bradley fighting vehicles 4 M119 howitzers 12 ISV utility vehicles 12 Abrams tanks Modern Era 2 3 Paladins 12 Strykers 12 M2 Bradley fighting vehicles 9 M777 artillery pieces 9 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles 12 Abrams tanks The parade will also feature an 'extensive' flyover, Army officials said, involving more than 50 helicopters. Those will include AH-64 Apaches, UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-47 Chinooks. Finally, the Army's Golden Knights parachute demonstration team will jump and present Trump with an American flag – the only part of the parade that will involve the president directly, Army officials said.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Live Updates: Trump and Musk Have a Lot at Risk in Feud
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Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Charlamagne knocks Jean-Pierre's book, says 'nobody wants to hear' from person who 'lied' for Biden admin
NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! Radio host Charlamagne Tha God on Thursday said while he would gladly read former White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre's new book, her credibility is dubious. Former Biden White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday revealed she was registering as an independent and announced a forthcoming book about her time in the tumultuous administration. The longtime Democratic Party operative is urging Americans to step outside harsh party lines in her new book, "Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines." "Until January 20, I was responsible for speaking on behalf of the President of the United States," she said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. "At noon on that day, I became a private citizen who, like all Americans and many of our allies around the world, had to contend with what was to come next for our country. I determined that the danger we face as a country requires freeing ourselves of boxes. We need to be willing to exercise the ability to think creatively and plan strategically." Charlamagne, who hasn't been shy about criticizing either party, offered mixed praise for Jean-Pierre's move during his radio show. FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS SHARE SHOCK OVER KARINE JEAN-PIERRE'S PARTY SWITCH "I respect her being independent because I feel like if you Black in this country, you shouldn't be loyal to any party," he said on Thursday's episode. "You should only be voting your interest. You should only be voting for politicians who are implementing legislation and policies for your communities and your people. And if you ask me, none of these parties have done enough for us to be screaming, 'We Republican or Democrat,' so independent is the way to go." Jean-Pierre's reputation is still questionable in his eyes, however. "When it comes to her in particular, I'm probably going to read the book, but nobody wants to hear from anyone who got up there and lied for the Biden administration," he said. He argued such proclamations from people like Jean-Pierre are too little, too late, even if he approves of her general points. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE "It's like a lot of these folks are having a come to Jesus moment way too late," he said. "They should have been talking like this two or three years ago, and she had a very interesting quote in her press release. The quote was, 'We need to be willing to exercise the ability to think creatively and plan strategically. We need to be clear-eyed and questioning rather than blindly loyal and obedient as we may have been in the past.' And that right there is the problem with Democrat supporters, especially Black ones, just blindly loyal and obedient for no damn reason." When asked by a co-host about whether such loyalty is referring to Biden or to the presidency as an institution, Charlamagne argued it ultimately resulted in betraying the American people. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
