DOJ tells US judge it might invoke state secrets act on high-profile deportation case

The Justice Department announced on Friday that it is contemplating invoking the state secrets privilege in the ongoing legal battle over the Trump administration’s deportation flights to El Salvador. This privilege would allow them to withhold certain information for national security reasons.

In a declaration submitted on Friday morning, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche informed U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg that discussions at the Cabinet level regarding invoking the state secrets privilege are underway. Blanche emphasized that this decision is a significant one that necessitates careful consideration of national security and foreign relations, and cannot be rushed in just 24 hours.

This development followed Boasberg’s issuance of a deadline on Thursday for the court to provide information about deportation flights that transported Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador over the weekend. At the same time, he issued an emergency court order temporarily halting the Trump administration from carrying out these flights.

Boasberg criticized the Trump administration for failing to meet the noon deadline for submitting information, even after offering the option to file the information under seal. Instead, the court received only a brief declaration from a regional ICE officer in Texas, stating that the administration is contemplating invoking the state secrets privilege.

The judge deemed this declaration as “woefully insufficient,” asserting that regional ICE officers lack the authority to inform the court about high-level Cabinet discussions. He suggested that a higher-ranking official in the federal government should provide this information.

Blanche’s filing was made shortly before government attorneys were scheduled to appear in court on Friday afternoon for a hearing on their motion to dismiss the case. Boasberg had previously criticized the government for evading its obligations by failing to submit the requested materials, even after extending the deadline and allowing them to file the materials under seal.

The legal dispute revolves around whether the government violated Boasberg’s emergency restraining order by using a 1798 wartime law to deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, for a 14-day period. The judge also ordered any flights en route to return to the U.S. immediately.

Despite the court order, a plane carrying numerous U.S. migrants, including Venezuelan nationals deported under the law in question, landed in El Salvador hours later. Government attorneys have refused to disclose information in court about the deportation flights, citing national security concerns.

Boasberg had previously requested details on the number of planes that departed the U.S. carrying individuals deported under the proclamation, the passenger count on each plane, the flight destinations, departure times from the U.S., and the originating locations of the flights.

He had warned of consequences if the Trump administration violated his order and the administration is appealing the decision in appellate court. Nevertheless, at least one plane with deported migrants landed in El Salvador later that evening, prompting Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to quip, “Oopsie, too late.”

Breanne Deppisch, a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, authored this article, focusing on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.