Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized a federal judge who blocked the deportations of suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) after President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
In a press release from the Department of Justice, Bondi issued a statement that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg had “supported” TdA “terrorists over the safety of Americans.”
“Tonight, a DC trial judge supported Tren de Aragua terrorists over the safety of Americans,” Bondi said in a statement. “TdA is represented by the ACLU. This order disregards well-established authority regarding President Trump’s power, and it puts the public and law enforcement at risk. The Department of Justice is undeterred in its efforts to work with the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and all of our partners to stop this invasion and Make America Safe Again.”
Bondi’s statement came after Boasberg “ordered the Trump administration to immediately halt efforts to remove those Venezuelan migrants” until he decided whether the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act “was illegal” or not, according to Politico.
Boasberg noted that “any plane” containing suspected members on TdA that was planning “to take off” or that was already in the air needed “to be returned to the United States,” according to the outlet.
Politico reported that Boasberg’s order came in response to a lawsuit that was “brought on behalf of five named Venezuelan immigrants.”
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of five named Venezuelan immigrants, was provisionally turned into a class action — meaning it serves as a block on deportation of all non-citizens in U.S. custody who are subject to Trump’s proclamation invoking the rarely-used law.
“The Proclamation is expected to authorize ‘immediate’ removal of noncitizens that the Proclamation deems to be alien enemies, without any opportunity for judicial review,” the lawsuit says. “It also contorts the plain language of the AEA: arrivals of noncitizens from Venezuela are deemed an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ by a ‘foreign nation or government,’ where Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, is deemed to be sufficiently akin to a foreign nation or government.”
As Breitbart News previously reported, Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which allows for the expedited removal of suspected TdA gang members. Under Trump’s presidential action, “Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua,” TdA is described as being “a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with thousands of members, many of whom have unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.”
