Trump gets near-term reprieve from providing due process to CECOT prisoners

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has granted a temporary pause on a lower court order that required the Trump administration to provide due process to hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. to El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. This decision is seen as a victory for the Trump administration.

Last week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that the migrants deported under the Alien Enemies Act were not given prior notice of their removals or the chance to challenge them in court, which violated their due process rights. He ordered the administration to provide these individuals with the opportunity to seek habeas relief and challenge their alleged gang member status that led to their removal.

Boasberg gave the administration until Wednesday to submit plans on how they would provide relief to the plaintiffs in CECOT, a maximum security prison in El Salvador. However, the Justice Department filed an emergency motion to stay the ruling in both the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, seeking additional time to respond to the ruling.

The Justice Department argued that Boasberg did not have jurisdiction over the case since the migrants are detained in El Salvador. They also claimed that his order interfered with the president’s authority to remove dangerous criminal aliens from the U.S. The Trump administration criticized Boasberg’s ruling as “unprecedented, baseless, and constitutionally offensive.”

Despite Boasberg’s ruling, the Trump administration continued to challenge it, stating that the court lacks jurisdiction over the habeas claims of the migrants held at CECOT. The administration called the ruling a threat to national security and foreign affairs interests.

Boasberg’s previous attempts to block the deportation flights to El Salvador earlier this year had already put him at odds with the Trump administration. He had issued a temporary restraining order to stop the first wave of deportation flights and ordered the administration to return the planes that had already departed back to the U.S.

In response to Boasberg’s rulings, the Trump administration has criticized him and other federal judges as “activist judges.” Despite the administration’s pushback, Boasberg has continued to uphold due process rights for the deported migrants.

The U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision to grant a temporary pause on Boasberg’s ruling is a significant development in the ongoing legal battle over the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. The case highlights the complexities of immigration law and the importance of upholding due process rights for all individuals involved.