Trump administration doubles down on stand on deportation flights to El Salvador
The Trump administration continues to insist it didn't defy a federal judge's order when it failed to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is weighing whether the government defied his order blocking the deportations of alleged gang members who hadn't been afforded due process. It's a case that's become a flashpoint in the rising tension between the administration and federal courts.
In a
14-page document filed late Tuesday night
, the Justice Department spelled out before Boasberg why it didn't turn around the two flights carrying alleged Tren de Aragua gang members despite his verbal order to do so.
"These removals both complied with the law and safeguarded Americans against members of a foreign terrorist organization. The Government will continue to defend the removals before this Court and, if necessary, on appeal challenging this Court's two injunctions issued on March 15," the filing reads. It's signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior DOJ officials.
The government attempts to thread the needle regarding Boasberg's directive, arguing that it didn't "remove" any of the migrants after he entered his order and that it "complied with the Court's injunction with respect to the two flights at issue" because it didn't formally remove anyone after 7:25 p.m. Saturday, though acknowledging it "did not order any removal flights to return to the United States."
The DOJ continued to argue that Boasberg's order was unclear and insufficient to be binding, asserting it "failed to satisfy the requirements for issuing a binding injunction "because Boasberg and the court didn't state "the reasons why it issued" the injunction.
"It is well-settled (in law) that an oral directive is not enforceable as an injunction," the filing says.
The DOJ later in the filing argues that once the flights were out of U.S. airspace, they were "military matters" and President Trump has the power to order military flights wherever he wants.
On Monday, the administration
invoked a state secrets privilege
and refused to give Boasberg any additional information about the deportations.
Boasberg, the chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, has
asked for details
about when the planes landed and who was on board, information the administration asserts would harm "diplomatic and national security concerns."
Government attorneys also asked an appeals court on Monday to lift
Boasberg's order
and allow deportations to continue, a push that appeared to divide the three-judge panel.
Circuit Court Judge Patricia Millett said, "Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than has happened here," referring to the way
Nazis detained in the U.S.
during World World II were processed compared to the Venezuelan immigrants
deported
to El Salvador this month under the same statute.
"We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy," government attorney Drew Ensign responded during a hearing of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Millett noted that during World War II, Nazis were put before hearing boards under Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, and the Trump administration has conceded the alleged
Tren de Aragua
gang members deported to El Salvador and detained in a maximum security prison didn't have the chance to appear in court.
Millett is one of the three appellate judges who will decide whether to lift a March 15 order temporarily prohibiting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. They didn't rule from the bench Monday.
Judge Justin Walker, who also sits on the appeals court, appeared open to the administration's argument that the migrants should be challenging their detention in Texas rather than the nation's capital. The third judge on the panel didn't ask any questions.
The administration has transferred hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador, invoking the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II.
Also on Monday, attorneys representing the Venezuelan government filed a legal action in El Salvador to free 238 Venezuelans who are being held in a Salvadoran maximum-security prison after the U.S. deported them.
The Alien Enemies Act allows noncitizens to be deported without the opportunity to go before an immigration or federal court judge. Mr. Trump issued a proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force.
Ensign argued that Boasberg's ruling was an "unprecedented and enormous intrusion upon the powers of the executive branch."
"The president has to comply with the Constitution and the laws like anyone else," said Millett, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2013.
Judge Justin Walker, whom Mr. Trump nominated in 2020, seemed to be more receptive to the administration's arguments based on his line of questioning. Walker pointed to the government's assertions that the plaintiffs should have filed their lawsuit in Texas, where the immigrants were detained.
"You could have filed the exact same complaint you filed here in Texas district court," Walker told American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt.
"We have no idea if everyone is in Texas," Gelernt said.
Walker also pressed the plaintiffs' lawyer to cite any prior case in which a judicial order blocking "a national security operation with foreign implications" survived appellate review.
Gelernt accused the administration of trying to use the law to "short circuit" immigration proceedings. Plaintiffs' attorneys had no way to individually challenge all the deportations before planeloads of Venezuelans took off on March 15, he added.
"This has all been done in secret," Gelernt said.
Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was nominated by Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1990, was the third judge on the panel. She's the one who didn't ask any questions during a hearing that lasted roughly two hours.
Boasberg, also an Obama nominee, ruled that immigrants facing deportation must get an opportunity to challenge their designations as alleged gang members. He said there is "a strong public interest in preventing the mistaken deportation of people based on categories they have no right to challenge."
"The public also has a significant stake in the Government's compliance with the law,"
the judge wrote
.
Mr. Trump and his allies have called for impeaching Boasberg.
In a rare statement, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said "impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision."
Just after midnight Monday, Mr. Trump posted a social media message questioning Boasberg's impartiality and calling for him to be disbarred.
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CBS News
9 minutes ago
- CBS News
Downtown L.A. curfew goes into effect after California Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses ICE protests
California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a statewide address on Tuesday in the wake of immigration operations that sparked days of protest in Los Angeles and the deployment of hundreds of National Guard and U.S. Marines troops to the area by President Trump. "Trump, without consulting California leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state's National Guard members to deploy on our streets illegally and for no reason," Newsom said. "This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president enflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk." The speech came on the heels of Mayor Karen Bass' decision to implement a curfew in downtown Los Angeles after five nights of unrest in the city center, and an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order filed by the state in its lawsuit to block further deployment of troops. That curfew resulted in dozens of arrests on Tuesday, with law enforcement swarming the impacted area as soon as it went into effect. Sporadic arrests followed. It was unclear how many were made in all. Since Friday, when the first operations took place in several downtown locations, protesters have taken to the streets to denounce the arrest of dozens of people. In some instances, protests have escalated into violent clashes that left an aftermath of destruction, including graffiti, looting, vandalism and debris. The next night, Mr. Trump declared that the National Guard would be deployed to Los Angeles to help quell the turmoil, despite opposition from California politicians who said it was largely unnecessary. That order was then followed by the deployment of 2,000 more National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to the area as the protests continued, something Newsom called "fanning the flames even harder." "The President, he did it on purpose. As the news spread throughout L.A., anxiety for family and friends ramped up and protests started again. By night, several dozen lawbreakers became violent and destructive, they vandalized property, they tried to assault police officers," Newsom said. "This situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown. But that, that's not what Donald Trump wanted." "What we're witnessing is not law enforcement — it's authoritarianism. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment," Newsom said. "Do not give into him." Los Angeles police and protestors face off in Downtown L.A. on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. Jason Armond Curfew issued During an evening press conference, Bass said that since demonstrations have continued to escalate into violence, resulting in dozens of arrests and more than 20 businesses looted, she would impose a curfew. "The curfew will be in place tonight from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.," she said. "We certainly expect for it to last for several days." It runs for one-square mile in the downtown area from the 5 Freeway to the 110 Freeway and from the 10 Freeway to where the 110 Freeway and 5 Freeway merge. "The city of Los Angeles is a massive area, 502 square miles," Bass said. "The area of downtown, where the curfew will take place, is one square mile ... Some of the imagery of the protest, of the violence gives the appearance as though this is a citywide crisis and it is not." Protesters gather in front of California National Guard soldiers and LAPD officers guarding the Edward R. Roybal Federal building as protests continue in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. / Getty Images Demonstrations continue Tuesday Dozens gathered once again Tuesday, but police were quick to close in on the growing crowd near the Metropolitan Detention Center. With the CBS Los Angeles helicopter overhead, multiple people were seen being detained and loaded onto buses by officers. At around 4 p.m. a small crowd moved towards the 101 Freeway, briefly entering southbound lanes before they were met by the California Highway Patrol. Some officers stopped traffic as others formed a skirmish line to prevent the pedestrians from moving further into the road. Despite law enforcement blocking offramps and onramps for the thoroughfare, the crowd was able to gain entry through a hole that had been cut in a chainlink fence. On Sunday, hundreds of demonstrators flooded the same stretch of freeway, where they clashed with CHP officers. At around 7:30 p.m. CBS News Los Angeles reporters said that tensions again escalated outside of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, where people in the crowd began hurling projectiles towards a line of National Guard troops stationed out front. When the curfew went active 30 minutes later, dozens of LAPD officers arrived outside of the building, which prompted much of the crowd to begin leaving the area. Still, dozens of people attempted to hang around, resulting in their arrests. It's unclear exactly how many people were taken into custody. With the CBS News helicopter overhead, a group of dozens were seen still moving through the area, some stopping to tag the side of buildings and Metro buses. By 11 p.m. most of the people who had previously gathered downtown appeared to have left the area. A crowd of protesters outside of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. KCAL News How it started The protests began Friday night after several immigration raids took place in the Westlake District, downtown and South LA. The CBS News Los Angeles helicopter flew over the locations where crowds quickly formed, and protesters attempted to prevent federal agents from placing individuals into vans. One of the 45 people arrested that day was local union leader David Huerta. The protests that took place over the weekend were declared unlawful assemblies and people were ordered to disperse and clear the area. In each case there were small pockets of the demonstrations that turned chaotic, which included hundreds of people converging on the 101 Freeway to block traffic on Sunday afternoon. That same day, several Waymo vehicles were torched to the ground by one group of people. The day prior, hundreds of demonstrators clashed with law enforcement in Paramount and Compton. Reporters on the ground saw as law enforcement and troops dressed in riot gear attempted to clear crowds by using tear gas, beanbag rounds and flash bangs into crowds to try and disperse people. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X that people who "lay a hand" on law enforcement officers will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. So far, nearly 400 people have been arrested in the series of demonstrations, Newsom said on Tuesday. Protesters gathered in downtown Los Angeles on June 10, 2025, marking the fifth consecutive day of anti-ICE protests. KCAL News National Guard and military in Los Angeles The Marines began arriving in the LA area on Tuesday morning, a defense official said, joining the thousands of National Guard troops already in the area to respond to the protests. Acting Defense Department comptroller Bryn MacDonnell testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and said the deployment of the National Guard will cost about $134 million. On Tuesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta asked a federal judge to provide a temporary restraining order to stop Mr. Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the U.S. Department of Defense from using the military and the National Guard to patrol the region and protect federal officers and facilities. The day before Bonta filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing the orders are unlawful and exceed the federal government's authority under the Tenth Amendment. "President Trump's order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles — over the objections of the Governor and local law enforcement — is unnecessary and counterproductive. It's also deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation's wars," Bonta said. Bass blamed the unrest in LA on the federal government's involvement, saying that before immigration enforcement actions last week, the city was "peaceful." During a speech at Fort Bragg on Tuesday, Mr. Trump called the protests "a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and a national sovereignty. He said that if it weren't for his calling in the National Guard, L.A. would be "burning to the ground right now" and that the majority of the demonstrations were allegedly "carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of our country" and that he would "liberate" L.A. Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla spoke with CBS News' Major Garrett on Tuesday regarding the actions of immigration enforcement and the several days of protests. He said that while the majority of the demonstrations have been peaceful, "the folks that show up after dark and are involved with the looting and the vandalism ... we denounce that." He called the ongoing situation a "crisis of Donald Trump's making." "The increasingly aggressive and cruel tactics of the immigration enforcement is what's prompting the response of people who are passionate about speaking up for our fundamental rights and due process, because the enforcement operations have gone far beyond just the violent criminals or the dangerous criminals that Donald Trump has promised," Padilla said. "It's raking in people who are otherwise innocent, hardworking women and men, children." He also denounced the deployment of military troops to the area. "The National Guard, to your point, it's not only not necessary here, it's counterproductive. Their presence is what's causing people to feel a little bit more on edge," he said. "As things have been quieting down a little bit more each day, now he's capturing that, not with a deescalation, but now potentially sending the Marines. Donald Trump is escalating the situation." Padilla, who grew up in the Pacoima area, served as president of the Los Angeles City Council and represented the San Fernando Valley in the state Senatre, says that the matter is "personal to me." "Los Angeles is my home. I am the proud son of immigrants from Mexico who worked so hard, who sacrificed so much to live their American dream. That's what the immigrant community is fighting for," he said. Protests take place across California Demonstrations have also taken place in cities across California in response to the events in Los Angeles. On Monday, a crowd of over 100 people gathered in Santa Ana outside the complex of federal buildings in the downtown area, some of which threw fireworks towards law enforcement officials who used crowd dispersal methods like smoke-filled canisters and pepper balls in return. The situation was much more peaceful on Tuesday, with a smaller group of people protesting in the same area without incident. "When a peaceful demonstration escalates into rocks, bottles, mortars, and fireworks being used against public service personnel, and property is destroyed, it is no longer a lawful assembly. It is a violation of the law," said a statement from Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez. "We will not stand by while our City is put at risk. Santa Ana Police officers, along with our mutual aid partners, are actively working to restore order. We urge everyone to go home." Tensions grew in San Francisco Monday night when police said two small groups of individuals committed vandalism and other criminal acts. Police said multiple people were arrested and detained after refusing to comply.
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Five takeaways from New Jersey's primaries for governor: How the candidates are handling Trump and more
The matchup in New Jersey's race for governor is officially set — and Tuesday's primaries also laid down big indicators about the state of both political parties after the first major intraparty contests since the 2024 election. Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state legislator, easily won his party's primary with President Donald Trump's endorsement, underscoring Trump's significant sway over the GOP electorate. U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill won the crowded Democratic primary, pitching herself as the candidate with the best shot at holding on to the governorship and steering past ideological and antiestablishment sentiment simmering in her party. She defeated candidates who were to her left and to her right. The race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, one of two governor's races this year, is expected to be competitive. Trump lost the state by 6 percentage points in November, a 10-point swing in his direction compared with his 2020 margin. Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's primaries: Sherrill won as many Democratic voters were weighing which candidate would be most electable and as each Democratic candidate pitched a different path forward for the party. Sherrill's victory suggests some Democratic voters want to dust off the party's successful playbook from the 2018 midterm elections, when she flipped a longtime Republican-held House seat. In that campaign and in her primary run this year, Sherrill stressed her background as a Navy helicopter pilot and a former federal prosecutor and pitched 'ruthless competence' as a counter to Trump. 'It just seems so obvious to me what the path forward is. It's effectively govern,' Sherrill recently told NBC News. 'And this is what I've been doing since 2018 when I first ran, right? ... I say to people, 'What's keeping you up at night?'' 'I tell people it's not maybe the sexiest tagline, but ruthless competence is what people in New Jersey want to see in government,' Sherrill added later. 'And that's what I've always provided, and that's what I think stands in stark contrast to the most incompetent federal government we've probably ever seen in this nation.' Still, while Sherrill won with over a third of the vote, the results revealed a fractured party. Two candidates who pitched themselves as more progressive, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, won a combined 36% of the vote. Two of the more moderate candidates, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, got 20% combined, while teachers union president Sean Spiller won 10%. After having come just 3 percentage points shy of defeating Murphy in 2021, Ciattarelli made one thing clear in his bid four years later: He's all in on Trump. Like many prominent Republicans, Ciattarelli wasn't always on board — he criticized Trump as a 'charlatan' in 2015. And while he embraced Trump during his previous bid for governor, he didn't campaign with him. That led Ciattarelli's opponents, including his top competitor, former radio host Bill Spadea, to try to frame him as insufficiently loyal to Trump. (Spadea had voiced criticism of Trump before he fell back in line.) But Trump's endorsement of Ciattarelli cemented his front-runner status, helping hasten the end of the campaign. And in a nod to Ciattarelli's past criticism, Trump tried to inoculate him from any attempt to undercut his Trump bona fides. 'Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100% (PLUS!),' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing his backing. Tuesday's result suggests that Trump's seal of approval was good enough for most GOP primary voters. By late Tuesday evening, Ciattarelli was carrying all of the state's 21 counties. Ciattarelli's vote share was at 67% by late Tuesday evening, compared with just 22% for Spadea. State Sen. Jon Bramnick, who had been critical of Trump, had won just 6%, followed by two other candidates who had each won less than 3% of the vote. Ciattarelli thanked Trump in his victory speech for his 'endorsement and strong support,' making a joke about his being a 'part-time New Jersey resident.' (Trump owns a home and a golf course in Bedminster.) But Ciattarelli spent most of his speech focused on a general election argument, not on shoring up his base — indicative of the line he'll have to walk in a state Trump lost three times, even after the improvement he showed last year. Both parties are grappling with antiestablishment sentiment, wondering how to handle it, channel it or just avoid getting run over by it. But Tuesday's results were also a reminder that political institutions still have some staying power. New Jersey's traditional political machines were dealt a blow last year following a lawsuit from Democrat Andy Kim during his Senate run, when a court ordered that county parties could no longer give advantageous ballot positions to their preferred candidates. That diminished the sway those parties had Tuesday, but they still demonstrated some power. Ciattarelli was the only Republican who competed for county party endorsements. Fulop didn't compete for Democratic county party endorsements, and Gottheimer sat some out, as well. Some county parties split between the candidates, with Sherrill earning the most endorsements from 10 of the 21 counties. While Sherrill was carrying 15 of the state's 21 counties late Tuesday, Gottheimer was winning his home county, Bergen, which endorsed him. Sweeney, the only candidate from South Jersey, fared far better in the six counties that backed him. He was winning 40% of the vote in Gloucester County while garnering 7% of the statewide vote. The county party endorsements were no guarantee of victory: The Essex County Democrats, for example, endorsed Sherrill. But as of late Tuesday evening, she was trailing Baraka in Essex County, where he is mayor of Newark, the state's largest city. Even in that instance, though, the party endorsement may have helped Sherrill cut Baraka's margins in his home base. Tuesday night's victory speeches were also important table-setters, indicative of how each party is looking to frame the general election. And New Jersey's general election this year may foreshadow much of what we see on the campaign trail around the country in the 2026 midterms. Outside of a quick thanks to Trump, Ciattarelli kept his focus tightly on Sherrill and New Jersey Democrats in his victory speech. He criticized her as 'Phil Murphy 2.0,' arguing that she has 'enabled every extremist and costly idea Phil Murphy has put forth,' and he even revived a key criticism of Murphy from his 2021 campaign. He also criticized Sherrill's focus on Trump as a deflection. 'Mark my words: While we focus on these key New Jersey issues, my Democratic opponent will do everything in her power. Trust me ... if you took a shot every time Mikie Sherrill says 'Trump,' you'd be drunk off your ass every day between now and Nov. 4,' he said. 'But every time you hear her say 'Trump,' I want you to know what it really means: What it really means is Mikie doesn't have a plan to fix New Jersey,' he continued. During her victory speech, Sherrill leaned heavily on her biography but also emphasized a dual mandate — a fight against New Jersey Republicans and also against Trump, a recipe that Democrats have successfully leaned on in past midterm elections. Calling Ciattarelli a 'Trump lackey' who shouldn't lead the state, Sherrill criticized 'Trump and MAGA Republicans in D.C. [who] want to raise your taxes and take away your health care and education dollars.' 'This country is too beautiful to be beholden to the cruelty and self-interest that Jack and Trump are trying to hoist on her,' she said. 'The future is built on hard work and hope, and here in New Jersey, we're known for our grit, our tenacity — maybe a little bit for how loud we are — but it's going to take a strong voice to cut through the noise from Washington and deliver for the people,' she said. 'So I stand here tonight doing just that. And as a mom of four teenagers, you guys know I'm not going to put up with the incompetent, whiny nonsense coming from aggrieved MAGA Republicans.' Tuesday's results showed how money matters in campaigns — and how it has its limits. On the Democratic side, Sherrill won despite having been outspent by some of her opponents whose outside groups dropped millions of dollars on the race. The largest outside spender was Working New Jersey, a super PAC funded by the state's teachers union, which Spiller leads. The group had spent a whopping $35 million on the race as of May 27, according to the latest campaign finance reports, while Spiller's campaign had spent $342,000. As of late Tuesday, Spiller had about 10% of the primary vote. Gottheimer and Fulop were also boosted by outside groups that spent millions of dollars on the airwaves. (Gottheimer drained his congressional account to fund the outside group supporting him.) Sherrill got support on the airwaves from One Giant Leap PAC, which spent less than either Gottheimer's or Fulop's groups but spent most of its funds in the final weeks of the race. Ciattarelli and an aligned outside group, Kitchen Table Conservatives, outspent the other Republicans. And Ciattarelli touted his strong fundraising as proof that he would be a formidable general election candidate. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Judge rejects Newsom's emergency request to limit Trump LA troop deployment
A judge has rejected California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) emergency request to limit President Trump's Los Angeles troop deployment. Newsom had earlier Tuesday asked a federal judge to immediately intervene to limit Trump's deployment of the National Guard in L.A., asking for an emergency ruling by 1 p.m. PDT that day. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, however, granted the Trump administration's request for more time to respond to Newsom's request. The administration has until 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday to submit its arguments. 'The court did not deny or rule on the Governor's request for a temporary restraining order. The court set a hearing for Thursday, after the federal government and the state file additional briefs, and we anticipate the court will rule on the request for a TRO a short time later,' a Newsom spokesperson told The Hill on Tuesday when reached for comment. Trump and Newsom have gone after each other amid the recent immigration protests in Los Angeles, with Trump even saying he would support arresting the Golden State governor. 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism,' Newsom shot back in a post on X Monday at Trump. Vice President Vance also took swings on Monday at Newsom, responding to Newsom's post about Trump's comments on his arrest by telling him to 'Do your job.' 'That's all we're asking,' he added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
