Trump stopped by Federal Judge

Ruling against Trump administration, judge says deported migrants entitled to due process

BY DAVID CATANESE

UPDATED MARCH 24, 2025 10:09 AM

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, shown March 13, denied a motion by the Trump administration to lift a temporary restraining order the blocks the deportations of accused Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act. ERIN SCHAFF NYT

WASHINGTON

A federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s motion to lift a temporary restraining order that blocks the federal government from using a wartime law to fast-track the deportation of a group of Venezuelan migrants accused of being violent gang members.

The decision, issued Monday by Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, set aside the issue of whether the judiciary can prevent a president’s directive to remove undocumented migrants under the Alien Enemies Act.

“Before they may be deported, they are entitled to individualized hearings to determine whether the Act applies to them at all,” wrote Boasberg. “Because the named Plaintiffs dispute that they are members of Tren de Aragua, they may not be deported until a court has been able to decide the merits of their challenge.”

During a hearing on Friday, Boasberg called President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport alleged Venezuelan gang members “incredibly troublesome and problematic.”

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Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order on March 15 in response to a lawsuit by five Venezuelans who said they were wrongly accused of being gang members and on the verge of being deported. The order included a demand that the Trump administration turn around planes ferrying 261 detainees to an El Salvador prison, but the planes continued on, raising the question of whether the Trump administration openly defied Boasberg’s directive.

Attorneys for the Department of Justice have have said Boasberg had no authority to issue his injunction. On Sunday, in an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Boasberg is “an out-of-control judge” who is “trying to control our entire foreign policy.”

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A D.C. appeals court is set to hear oral arguments Monday afternoon that could overturn Boasberg’s order. Bondi predicted the case would end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.