Judges calling out Trump admin for underwhelming defense | The Excerpt
On Monday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe discusses how judges are calling out the Trump administration for flimsy legal arguments. President Donald Trump uses a 1798 law to deport nearly 300 Venezuelans despite a judge's order to block the move. Paste BN National Immigration Reporter Lauren Villagran talks about how ICE is detaining those married or engaged to U.S. citizens. Severe storms leave dozens dead. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will soon be on their way home from space. Get ready to submit your brackets! March Madness is here.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Monday, St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, 2025. This is The Excerpt.
Today, how judges are calling out the Trump administration. Plus, some who are married or engaged to US citizens are being detained by ICE, and it's almost time to return home later than expected for a pair of astronauts.
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Judges around the country have recently been calling out the Trump administration for various legal arguments. I caught up with Paste BN Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe for more. Hello, Maureen.
Maureen Groppe:
Hey, how are you?
Taylor Wilson:
Good. Thanks for hopping on today. So, you wrote about the condemnations from three federal judges in courtrooms around the country this week. Let's start with US District Judge William Alsup, who handed down that major ruling on federal worker firings. What happened here, Maureen, and what did we hear from Judge Alsup himself?
Maureen Groppe:
Yeah, so this case is about the federal workers who were fired because they had not been on the job that long, either had been recently hired or had been recently promoted, and they were all given notices about the same time. But individual agencies are supposed to be able to make those decisions, not one directive coming from one office within the White House. And so, the judge had been trying to get at that point and felt like the administration was trying to obfuscate the fact that they had not done this properly.
And what he specifically said is, "I've been practicing or serving in this court for over 50 years and I know how we get at the truth and you're not helping me get at the truth. You're giving me press releases, sham documents." And then he also attacked the fact that the dismissal notices that these individual workers got said they were being dismissed because of poor performance. He specifically called that a lie. He said, "It's a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know goodwill, that's a lie."
Taylor Wilson:
All right. There was also US District Judge Ana Reyes, who oversaw a hearing on Trump's transgender troop ban in the military, Maureen. What happened here and what stood out to you?
Maureen Groppe:
So, what she was really grilling the Justice Department for hours about the basis for the decision, the Pentagon's decision that it's not a good idea for transgender people to serve in the military and that's in reversal from what had been happening. So, one of the things she took them to task for is how they used a 2021 military report. She accused them of cherry-picking data in that study to make their point when she said not only was that data misrepresented, but the overall study made the opposite conclusion of what they were trying to use the study for to make their point.
Taylor Wilson:
And earlier this week, US District Judge Amir Ali ruled that the Constitution does not allow Trump to sit on funds Congress directed to be spent on humanitarian assistance and other foreign aid. This was a big issue here early in the administration. What else did we hear from Judge Ali and what might be the importance here?
Maureen Groppe:
The thing I focused on was how he was looking at their explanation for this blanket freeze. The administration said, well, they needed to freeze all the spending because they wanted to do a review of these programs to see whether the money was being spent well and spent in line with Trump's policies. But he said there was no rational connection between that goal of reviewing these programs and the fact that all the spending had to be immediately frozen. His specific quote was, "Defendants have yet to offer any explanation, let alone one supported by the record for why a blanket suspension setting off a shockwave and upending reliance interest for thousands of businesses and organizations around the country was a rational precursor to reviewing programs." So, pretty tough language about the stated explanation for why they needed to go at the review this way.
Taylor Wilson:
And Maureen, just broadly writ large, why might it be significant that we're seeing these judges call out the Trump administration in this way in quick succession in recent days?
Maureen Groppe:
There are different ways that the administration actions can be challenged. The judges are looking at does the administration have the legal means under the Constitution to do what they're doing? But part of that is if they find that the explanations for how they're doing these things, if they're just false, that can be a problem for them. And we saw that during the first Trump administration when the Commerce Department wanted to add a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census and that went up to the court. And in a decision that was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, he said that the agency had not been forthcoming about its real reason for wanting that question on the census. He said that under what's called the Administrative Procedure Act, there has to be an explanation for agency action. What the administration provided, he said, was more of a "distraction, not a reasonable explanation."
Taylor Wilson:
All right, great analysis and a breakdown for us as always. Maureen Groppe covers the Supreme Court for Paste BN. Thank you, Maureen.
Maureen Groppe:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
The Trump administration deported nearly 300 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act. That's despite a federal judge blocking the flight. Chief US Judge James Boasberg's order Saturday came after Trump issued a proclamation which he had signed the day before, targeting gang members for immediate deportations under the 1798 law. The Alien Enemies Act allows the deportation without a hearing of anyone from a designated enemy country who is not a naturalized citizen. The law has only been invoked three times while the country was at war to hasten the removal of citizens of enemy countries.
Hours before the proclamation's release, Judge Boasberg in Washington granted a temporary restraining order for the government not to deport five Venezuelan nationals cited in a lawsuit. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement yesterday that alleged gang members were arrested over the weekend at Trump's direction and had already been deported to El Salvador.
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Even those married or engaged to US citizens are being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent weeks. I spoke with Paste BN National Immigration Reporter Lauren Villagran to learn more. Lauren, thank you so much for making some time here.
Lauren Villagran:
Thanks, Taylor.
Taylor Wilson:
You write in this story about Bradley Bartell and Sylvia Muñoz. This is a couple. What can you tell us about them and their story?
Lauren Villagran:
Bradley Bartell is a guy from Wisconsin. He works in the Dells region at a factory, working maintenance. And a few years ago, he met his now wife, Sylvia Muñoz, who is originally from Peru and who a few years back had come to the United States on a work-study visa while she was in college. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her visa was expiring and she had trouble getting home because borders were closed and there weren't very many flights out. In any case, she overstayed her visa, which is an administrative violation under US immigration code.
But she and Bradley met, fell in love, got married and submitted their paperwork to US citizenship and immigration services as many couples do when they're in that situation. And they took a belated honeymoon in January to Puerto Rico. But on their way back, Taylor, they were intercepted at the San Juan Airport and Sylvia was separated from Bradley by US authorities and turned over to ICE.
Taylor Wilson:
And what's the latest there, Lauren? Have we heard anything from her or from this couple since?
Lauren Villagran:
So, she has been in ICE detention now for roughly four weeks. And Taylor, she's not the only one in this situation. Paste BN has learned from attorneys and others with knowledge of the women's cases that several other women were detained in a similar way in either the San Juan Airport or an airport exiting the US Virgin Islands. These are domestic flights and the women are in different circumstances. Immigration can be complicated, as you know, but it does seem that all of the women were in some kind of legal immigration process.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, an issue in this particular story, Lauren, seems to be an overstay of visa, as you mentioned. Can you just explain what happens when an immigrant does that, what impact it might have on future immigration processes and just what that means legally?
Lauren Villagran:
A visa overstay is not treated in the same way that crossing the border illegally is. And the reason for that, Taylor, I believe, is that when you apply for a visa, there's a vetting process that happens and there are reasons why someone might overstay a visa. According to government reports, we know that visa overstays are often just about 1 to 2% of all folks who get a tourist or work-study visa in the United States might overstay. So, it is a small number as a percentage of the whole.
That being said, if you end up looking for an adjustment of status, if you get married to a US citizen, it is possible that your visa overstay could be forgiven. It is also possible that you could be sent back to your country of origin with a bar to reentry of three, five, or 10 years. What is different in this case is that we're clearly seeing ICE choose to place people in a detained setting, in essentially a correctional facility while they work out their immigration case.
Taylor Wilson:
And do they have any recourse, whether it's Bradley or similar situations when a loved one goes into detention in this way?
Lauren Villagran:
ICE has broad authority to detain and deport immigrants in the country without legal status. What we are seeing now though is that even those with proof of some sort of legal immigration process, even if the status is not approved yet, are being detained. Taylor, we've confirmed even one case in which a woman has a valid green card. She lost the actual card and applied for a replacement, but her family member showed Paste BN the USCIS form approving her green card earlier this year, and yet she's currently in ICE detention.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow. So, Lauren, what advice do advocates have for immigrants in this moment who have any sort of legal limbo?
Lauren Villagran:
Look, I mean without alarming the millions of people who are in an immigration process in the United States, an attorney with the ACLU did tell me that those who do not have full legal status should think twice before traveling and be well aware of how their immigration process could be, as the attorney put it, "weaponized against them." It's pretty clear that it's important to carry all necessary paperwork or proof of residency or citizenship. At this time, that's what we're hearing from attorneys.
Taylor Wilson:
It's clear that ICE is ramping up enforcement in this moment, Lauren. Just from their perspective, I mean, what kind of pressure are they facing to do so under this administration?
Lauren Villagran:
Well, Taylor, ICE did not respond to our repeated requests for comment by phone and email, neither did Department of Homeland Security, which is ICE's parent. But in covering the first eight weeks of the administration, I can tell you that ICE is most definitely under incredible pressure to deliver higher and higher numbers of arrested and deported immigrants. We're also seeing that crackdown expand into those who may also still be in a legal immigration process.
Taylor Wilson:
Lauren Villagran covers the border and immigration for Paste BN. Another great and important piece from you, Lauren. Thanks so much.
Lauren Villagran:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
At least 37 people are dead after dozens of tornadoes and severe storms pushed across the US over the weekend, decimating homes and other structures in several states. Deaths were reported in Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, and Missouri, where the storms killed a dozen, including three on Friday night when an EF3 tornado with peak winds of 140 miles an hour ripped through the town of Bakersfield according to the National Weather Service. A Kansas Highway pile-up involving over 70 vehicles also left several people dead according to the State Highway Patrol.
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The SpaceX Crew 10 Mission has made it to the International Space Station. With floating hugs and smiles all around, the two NASA astronauts who crewed the ill-fated Boeing Starliner greeted their replacements aboard the station yesterday. The arrival of the mission's crew signals a significant milestone for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams who flew to the station in June on the doomed Starliner spacecraft. Now, that Crew 10 has made it to orbit, the stage is set for Wilmore and Williams to finally return to earth with the two astronauts of Crew 9, though that highly anticipated voyage still won't happen for a few days.
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The field is now set for the college basketball tournament. Selection Sunday brought the annual bracket reveal and Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Florida will be the number one seeds in the men's tournament while UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, and USC are the top seeds in the Whitman's field. You can find the full brackets and submit your own picks with Paste BN Sports. We have a link in today's show notes.
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And later today, do you think the media is focusing on President Donald Trump and the federal government too much? We asked readers this question as part of a new initiative from the Paste BN Opinion team that we're calling Forum. Each week hones in on a different issue that is highly debated but that Americans are starkly divided on. Tune in today at 4:00 PM Eastern Time to hear our second bonus episode of Forum with the voices of listeners and readers just like you. We have a link to the written version of Forum in today's show notes.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.