
Former AG Bill Barr blasts judges for 'usurping' Trump's national security authority on deportation flights
Legal battles continue over President Donald Trump's migrant deportation flights, particularly those involving Venezuelan migrants sent to El Salvador. Former Attorney General Bill Barr says the judges blocking these flights are overstepping their authority.
"There's a pattern whereby these district court judges are trying to usurp the responsibility of the president in the national security area," Barr said Tuesday on "America's Newsroom."
"The president is absolutely right to be frustrated and concerned about the way the courts are handling this."
Barr's comments follow U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's decision to halt the deportation of individuals alleged to be gang members, citing due process concerns. Boasberg also ordered the government to return planes carrying migrants who had already been deported.
According to Barr, the ruling goes beyond the judge's authority and interferes with the president's constitutional powers.
"The Constitution gives the president the power to make the judgments about how we deal with foreign nationals when we are animated by national security concerns," said Barr, who served as Trump's attorney general in 2019 and 2020.
"It's his call, not a district court judge's call."
Judge Boasberg has requested further details about the El Salvador flight, including when it landed and who was on board. However, the Trump administration has invoked the state secrets privilege, allowing it to withhold that information from the court.
On Monday, government attorneys asked an appeals court to lift Boasberg's order and allow the deportation flights to resume. The judges on the panel appeared divided, with Judge Patricia Millett comparing the situation to World War II policies.
"Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemy Act than has happened here," she said, arguing that even Nazis had hearing boards before being deported, while the migrants in this case allegedly received no due process.
Barr says this case underscores a broader issue of district court judges issuing nationwide injunctions that impact the entire country.
"Even where it's appropriate for the court to play its traditional role of safeguarding the liberties of American citizens, we have this phenomena of nation-wide injunctions where the lowest level judge, district judges, try to bind the entire nation and bind the president in their initial decision. That is not what we have meant by the judicial power under our Constitution," Barr said.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan voiced similar concerns in 2022 during a speech at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
"It can't be right that one district judge can stop a nationwide policy in its tracks and leave it stopped for the years it takes to go through normal process," she said.
Barr is calling on the Supreme Court to intervene and resolve the issue.
"If they [the U.S. Supreme Court] finally stand up and decide a case instead of hanging back from these decisions, I think it'll come out the right way," he said.
"I think most of the justices appreciate how absurd this is."
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CNN
40 minutes ago
- CNN
Democratic governors slam Trump's military deployment in California as ‘flagrant abuse of power'
Democratic governors on Thursday slammed President Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard and Marines to California amid protests over the administration's immigration enforcement policies. 'As we speak, an American city has been militarized over the objections of their governor,' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul began her testimony at a hearing on Capitol Hill. 'At the outset I just want to say that this is a flagrant abuse of power and nothing short of an assault on our American values.' The hearing is playing out against the backdrop of protests in Los Angeles and cities across the country against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has clashed with Trump over his decision to deploy National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles despite opposition from the state and city's Democratic leaders. Thursday's proceedings on Capitol Hill gave a high-profile platform to some of the Democratic Party's potential 2028 contenders to craft their response to the Trump administration's controversial immigration tactics, as the party seeks to calibrate its messaging on issues of crime and public safety. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called it wrong 'to deploy the National Guard and active duty Marines into an American city, over the objection of local law enforcement' and 'to tear children away from their homes and their mothers and fathers.' The Illinois governor condemned any violence, but he also delivered a warning to the Trump administration over potential plans to broaden the scope of the immigration crackdown, including the deployment of the National Guard in other states. 'We will not participate in abuses of power. We will not violate court orders. We will not ignore the Constitution. We will not defy the Supreme Court. We will not take away people's rights to peacefully protest,' Pritzker said. Hochul, Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are testifying at a hearing focused on 'sanctuary state' policies. 'Sanctuary' jurisdictions is a broad term referring to jurisdictions with policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement actions, but the term is nebulously defined. Walz, who noted his state does not have so-called sanctuary legislation guiding enforcement policies, blasted the Trump administration's 'cruel and misguided policies.' 'We have a broken immigration system in this country. I think everyone in this room agrees with that. But nothing Minnesota has done to serve its own people stands in the way of the federal government managing border security and policies,' Walz said. And each governor laid the blame at Congress' feet for failing to adequately tackle comprehensive immigration reform. House Oversight Chair James Comer, meanwhile, criticized the Democratic governors' approach to immigration enforcement, saying in his opening remarks that 'Democrat-run sanctuary cities and states are siding with illegal aliens.' 'For today's Democrat Party, it seems unlimited illegal immigration isn't a failure of policy – it is the policy. And that agenda is being pushed at every level of government,' he continued. The Democratic governors explained the way their states cooperate with ICE on criminal enforcement, but Republicans have pushed for state and local officials to cooperate in all immigration enforcement matters. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik clashed sharply with Hochul during the hearing, providing a potential preview of next year's gubernatorial race in the Empire State with the congresswoman eyed as a top possible GOP contender. New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, whose name is also in the mix as a potential GOP gubernatorial candidate, also briefly appeared at the hearing even though he does not sit on the committee. Stefanik also does not sit on the panel. The clash came as Stefanik questioned Hochul over New York's sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants, pressing her repeatedly to recall details of what the congresswoman claimed were violent crimes committed by migrants in New York City during the governor's administration. 'Do you know who Sebastian Zapeta-Calil is?' Stefanik asked Hochul at one point. 'I'm sure you'll tell me,' Hochul said, when Stefanik cut in again. 'These are high-profile cases, New Yorkers know about them and you don't – so let's talk about Sebastian Zapeta-Calil. Do you know who that is?' she asked, referencing a high-profile case of subway violence from late last year in which an undocumented migrant was accused of setting fire to a woman who was asleep while riding a New York City train. 'I don't have the specific details at my disposal, no,' Hochul answered. After describing the case, Stefanik said, 'This is in Kathy Hochul's New York.' 'These crimes are horrific, I condemn them, and I would say – in all of these cases we would work with ICE to remove them,' Hochul said. CNN reported in January that Zapeta-Calil, 33, an undocumented migrant from Guatemala, pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of Debrina Kawam, 57. Zapeta-Calil repeatedly told detectives he had no memory of the attack. Then, investigators played surveillance video that allegedly caught him igniting the flames. 'Oh, damn, that's me,' Zapeta-Calil said during questioning with police that was transcribed and translated, according to court documents. 'I am very sorry. I didn't mean to. But I really don't know. I don't know what happened, but I'm very sorry for that woman,' Zapeta-Calil told police. Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost asked each of the governors how they would handle potential arrests by the federal government, as he decried Trump having endorsed the idea of arresting California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 'If Tom Homan comes to Albany to arrest me, I'll say go for it. You can't intimidate a governor,' Hochul said, referring to the White House border czar. 'We're here on the frontlines every day, fighting to defend our rights, our values, and the public safety of our residents. And so, anything threatening our responsibility is an assault on our democracy, nothing short of that.' 'If Tom Homan were to come to try to arrest us, me, rather, I could say first of all that he can try,' Pritzker said. 'I can also tell you that I will stand in the way of Tom Homan going after people who don't deserve to be frightened in their communities, who don't deserve to be threatened, terrorized – I would rather that he came and arrested me than do that to the people of my state.' 'I didn't realize how much animosity there is here – we have a responsibility to the American public to work together. And I think threatening arrests on elected officials, congressman, it doesn't help any of us,' said Walz. 'And Gov. Pritzker is right – our citizens are scared and angry and it's not necessary. We can fix this with a bipartisan border bill, help us out.'


Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Former ESPN host claims Trump wants to make America a 'Whiter nation'
Former ESPN radio host Dan Le Batard has long been critical of President Donald Trump and his immigration policies - his parents came to the U.S. from Cuba. During his show on Wednesday, Le Batard again spoke out against the policies while mentioning the protests in Los Angeles, claiming Trump wants to make the United States a "whiter nation." "Of course, everyone can agree, yes, illegal criminals in this country, yes, get them out of here. But wait a minute," "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz." "Who gets to decide what's illegal and criminal when you're just going to violate the Supreme Court and democracy and the constitution and everything else in the name of, now you've got an armed militia that says every protest is dangerous. Even the peaceful ones. And you can frame it that way because the people are Brown." Le Batard added that it "feels like state militia (is) rubber-bulleting about just basic American freedoms." Jeremy Tache added, "This is a use of the military against our own people. If this was happening in any other country, we would be looking at that as one of the most horrifying things that could possibly happen." "This is exactly how it is that you circumvent what feels like American democracy to make sure that the others never unite like a union. You can always make them the others, and you'll always have white people on your side…" Le Batard continued. "Trying to make this country Whiter in a way that is overt, that is political, that is hateful, and allows you to keep the right to make all people other than you criminals based on whatever you make the laws, including just being Brown, not having a license or being a criminal, because you're 'just like all those other dirty Mexican rapists that we had to build a wall to keep out.'" "We can hide under the semantics argument of, well of course illegal people who are here committing crimes shouldn't be here," the former ESPN host added. "But that doesn't mean you should make all Brown people and Black people that." Los Angeles law enforcement has made dozens of arrests in the wake of days of protests and riots. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.


Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Walmart distances itself from heiress' ad rallying anti-Trump protests
Billionaire Walmart heiress Christy Walton faced backlash from the White House and avoidance by Walmart itself after she bought an ad appearing to call Americans across the country to protest against President Donald Trump. Walton, one of the richest women in America, bought a full-page ad in the New York Times declaring "NO KINGS," referring to the No Kings organization that is coordinating hundreds of protests across the country against Trump's administration on the same day as his military parade this weekend. Andrew Cook, a spokesman for the No Kings organization, told Forbes there will be more than 1,800 events across America. While Walton's ad does not mention Trump directly, it instead appears to echo many common liberal critiques of the president and his policies by declaring, "We are a people of principle and honor. We honor our commitments and stand by our allies. We defend against aggression by dictators. We uphold and defend the Constitution." The ad continued, "We care for our children and veterans. We respect our neighbors and trading partners. We support a healthy national and international economy, community, and environment. We are the world leader trusted to uphold the stability of the rule of law." It then concludes, "We are the people of the United States of America. The honor, dignity, and integrity of our country are not for sale. Our government is of the people, by the people, for the people." A spokesperson for Christy Walton told Fox News Digital in a statement: "The personal ad message from Christy Walton published, Sunday, June 8, focuses on encouraging people to engage peacefully and civically in next weekend's events on June 14th. It is unrelated to the events we have seen unfold the past several days. Christy has provided no funding to organizations or individuals involved in the demonstrations in Los Angeles or other cities, nor has she provided any funding to those organizing the upcoming events." The statement continued, "Her interest is simply in encouraging people to listen to one another, participate in their communities, and productively engage on the issues they care about. She believes while we have the right to protest, we do not have a right to violence. She condemns violence in all forms and her message promotes civic engagement, peaceful dialogue, and the sharing of diverse views and voices." Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, which argued that the ad rings tone-deaf to the mandate of Americans who elected Trump last November. "Great, a left-wing billionaire feels like burning some of her inheritance for a PR stunt. It's not going to change the fact that over 77 million Americans voted for mass deportations, border security, and America First trade policies – a mandate that the Trump administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to deliver on," a White House spokesperson said. Walmart appeared to distance itself from Walton and her activism in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, "We condemn violence, including when it's directed towards law enforcement, and the damaging of property." "As a company with associates and customers in the Los Angeles region, we remain focused on their safety and that of impacted communities. The advertisements from Christy Walton are in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart. She does not serve on the board or play any role in decision making at Walmart," the company statement added.