Judge Boasberg voices skepticism over use of Alien Enemies Act deportations

Judge Boasberg voices skepticism over use of Alien Enemies Act deportations toggle caption El Salvador Presidency/Handout Government lawyers were back in court Friday to debate the legality of President Trump's invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to target members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang he says is invading the U.S. Judge James Boasberg said the policy ramifications of using the Alien Enemies Act in this way were "incredibly troublesome and problematic." In a legal filing on Thursday afternoon, Boasberg called the government's latest response to whether it had violated his judicial order "woefully insufficient" and said the government "again evaded its obligations." Court filings escalate White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier this week provided a breakdown of the 261 people on the three flights, saying 137 were deported under the Alien Enemies Act, 101 were Venezuelans deported under regular immigration proceedings, and 23 were members of the MS-13 gang. In the meantime, lawyers told Boasberg that the administration is evaluating "whether to invoke the state secrets privilege" with regard to the flight details the court wants, they said.