In a case contesting the Trump administration’s power to deport Venezuelan nationals under a 1798 wartime law, a federal appellate court refused to stay the orders of a lower court.
The Trump administration’s deportation agenda was further halted when a three-judge panel sided with the plaintiffs in the lawsuit in a 2-1 ruling.
Oral arguments were heard Monday by D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges Karen Henderson, Patricia Millett, and Justin Walker, who agreed to hear the case expeditiously last week.
Millett, an Obama appointee, aligned with the plaintiffs and engaged in a back-and-forth on Monday. She debated whether the Trump administration had violated constitutional due process rights by possibly not giving those who were targeted for deportation enough time to seek habeas protections, as well as how the administration was implementing the relevant law, with Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign.
It’s all but guaranteed that the Trump administration will appeal the case.
During the CNN panel discussion, a legal analyst argued that if this case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, it could spell the end for Democrats.
Xochitl Hinojosa, a former DOJ director of Public Affairs, said, “This has been an unprecedented case from the beginning. The reality is, is that what the D.C. circuit is ruling on is a very technical matter. They‘re not ruling on the Alien Enemies Act. They‘re actually ruling when it comes to a fight between Judge Boasberg and the Department of Justice. Justice, the Department of Justice and the administration, they used a statute from the 18th century.”
“And essentially the judge said, hold on, wait a minute, issued a tro and said, I need some more information on this. This hasn‘t been used in a long time. I would like some more information. The Justice Department stonewalled and instead they ended up filing this appeal that is now at the D.C. Circuit. So it is very process-oriented. I would say, as a general matter, no, I don‘t think the Justice Department would be successful. But given how everything in this matter has been unprecedented, from the calling to impeach the judge to everyone from their Department of Justice leadership, signing on to these filings, which never happens, it‘s clear that there is a lot of politics being played here, and it‘s unclear where that last judge is going to rule,” she added.
“And it really could all come down to that then. Then of course, mark, depending on how that goes, if Trump wins, then that‘s a victory in this one specific sense, right. Not not overall. But I mean is his bet. Mark is his hope that this eventually all goes to the Supreme Court, right?” host Erin Burnett asked.
“That‘s where they want it to end up. The Trump administration wants to have more power and more ability to conduct deportations with a minimal amount of judicial oversight. And that’s where it is,” said Marc Caputo, a senior reporter at Axios.
“The Trump administration belives that the law is on their side and the court‘s composition ultimately at the Supreme Court is also on their side. That is, the number of Republicans appointed Justices outnumber that of Democrats. And to them, those two factors are essentially the ballgame,” Caputo added.
WATCH:
In an interview with Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi strongly criticized lower court judges for getting involved in immigration issues. She also promised to take the case to the Supreme Court for review if needed.
“This is an out-of-control judge, a federal judge, trying to control our entire foreign policy, and he cannot do it,” Bondi said of the lower court decisions.