Trump DOJ Issues BRILLIANT Response to Obama Judge Who Tried to Block Deportation of Violent Gang Members

The Department of Justice has just issued a response to the ruling by Obama-appointed Judge James Boasberg, who tried to stop a plane full of hundreds of violent gang members from being deported to El Salvador.

On Saturday, the judge granted a temporary restraining order to block the Trump administration from deporting dangerous Venezuelan gang members after President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act.

However, the plane was already in air. The judge ruled that it must turn around and fly back to the U.S. — an order that was promptly ignored.

We covered that full story here:

President Trump DEFIES Obama Judge’s Order, Deports Over 200 Violent Gang Members to El Salvador Anyways!

Now, the DOJ has provided a very concise explanation why, in legal terms, that judge's order was not followed.

Basically, the plane was already in international airspace, which the judge has zero jurisdiction over.

Too late!

Check it out:

🔥🔥🔥No clarity on whether they were "in the air" still or not. pic.twitter.com/f329bgUBN7

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) March 16, 2025

Here's what the DOJ wrote:

For the reasons explained on the record, Federal Defendants object to this Court’s assertion of jurisdiction, including over the President’s exercise of powers vested in him by Article II. Subject to that objection, Federal Defendants were promptly notified of the Court’s temporary restraining order issued in the morning and the 7:26 PM EDT minute order that temporarily enjoined any removals pursuant to the Presidential Proclamation. Federal Defendants have sought emergency appellate relief from the D.C. Circuit as to both orders; the Court of Appeals has now ordered expedited briefing on both motions. The five individual Plaintiffs that were the subject of the first TRO have not been removed.

Going forward, and in the absence of appellate relief, Federal Defendants will continue to protect the United States using authorities other than the Proclamation. Federal Defendants further report, based on information from the Department of Homeland Security, that some gang members subject to removal under the Proclamation had already been removed from United States territory under the Proclamation before the issuance of this Court’s second order.

Furthermore, White House Axios reporter Marc Caputo said that the White House also claimed the judge was operating outside of his jurisdiction:

EXCLUSIVE: The White House says it ignored a court order to turn around 2 planeloads of accused Venezuelan gang members because the flights were over international waters and therefore the ruling didn't apply

This headed to the Supreme Court Courthttps://t.co/BHywWBoOoD

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) March 16, 2025

From Axios:

The timeline: The president signed the executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act on Friday night, but intentionally did not advertise it. On Saturday morning, word of the order leaked, officials said, prompting a mad scramble to get planes in the air.

• At 2:31 p.m. Saturday, an immigration activist who tracks deportation flights, posted on X that "TWO HIGHLY UNUSUAL ICE flights" were departing from Texas to El Salvador, which had agreed to accept Venezuelan gang members deported from the U.S.
• Hours later, during a court hearing filed by the ACLU., Boasberg ordered a halt to the deportations and said any flights should be turned around mid-air.
• "This is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately," he told the Justice Department, according to the Washington Post.
• At that point, about 6:51 p.m., both flights were off the Yucatan Peninsula, according to flight paths posted on X.
  • "There was a discussion about how far the judge's ruling can go under the circumstances and over international waters and, on advice of counsel, we proceeded with deporting these thugs," the senior official said.Inside the White House, officials discussed whether to order the planes to turn around. On advice from a team of administration lawyers, the administration pressed ahead.
  • "They were already outside of US airspace. We believe the order is not applicable," a second senior administration official told Axios.

Yes, but: The Trump administration was already spoiling for a fight over the Alien Enemies Act — one of several fronts on which they believe legal challenges to the president's authority will only end up strengthening it when the Supreme Court rules in his favor.

Between the lines: Officially, the Trump White House is not denying it ignored the judge's order, and instead wants to shift the argument to whether it was right to expel alleged members of Tren de Aragua.

• "If the Democrats want to argue in favor of turning a plane full of rapists, murderers, and gangsters back to the United States, that's a fight we are more than happy to take," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios when asked about the case.
• It's unclear how many of the roughly 250 Venezuelans were deported under the Alien Enemies Act and how many were kicked out of the U.S. due to other immigration laws.