Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Trump's administration responded to Judge Boasberg's request for deportation details.
- The judge questioned the use of state secrets doctrine due to public disclosures.
- Trump's impeachment call for Boasberg drew criticism, raising constitutional crisis concerns.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration responded on Thursday to a judicial request for more details on the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants as the judge considers whether officials violated his order temporarily blocking the expulsions.
Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Wednesday told the administration to either provide specifics on when the deportation flights took off and landed so he can determine whether they violated his order, or to invoke a legal doctrine involving state secrets to avoid sharing those details and explain their reasons for doing so.
A Justice Department official said administration lawyers submitted their response "in camera," which means the filing was not on the public docket but given to the judge to review in his chambers.
The judge had given them this option, which is common in cases involving sensitive matters. It is routine for judges to require litigants to produce such materials and for litigants to comply.
Boasberg on Wednesday expressed skepticism that the state secrets doctrine — which protects sensitive national security information from being disclosed in civil litigation — was applicable, given that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted details of the flights on social media.
The dispute between the judge and the Republican president's administration came to a head on Tuesday when Trump called for Boasberg's impeachment by Congress — a process that could remove him from the bench — drawing a rare rebuke from the U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts.
The episode has raised concerns among Trump critics and some legal experts about a potentially looming constitutional crisis if his administration defies judicial decisions. Under the U.S. Constitution, the executive and the judiciary are co-equal branches of government.
Trump has said he would not defy any court orders.
Boasberg, who was confirmed to the federal bench in 2011 by a 96-0 bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate, has warned of potential consequences if he finds the administration violated his order, but has not specified those consequences.
On Saturday, the judge imposed a two-week ban on any deportations under Trump's invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. Trump said the law allowed him to deport alleged members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua without final removal orders from immigration judges. Boasberg found that the law did not provide a basis for the president to assert that the gang's presence in the United States was akin to an act of war.
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