Judge calls Trump response about Venezuelan deportation flights 'woefully insufficient'

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WASHINGTON – A federal judge called the Trump administration’s response “woefully insufficient” to his demand for more information about deportation flights of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act, in a further escalation of tensions between the judicial and executive branches.

Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg had asked for details about the number of deportation flights on Saturday, as well how many passengers they carried and where they landed. He is weighing whether the government defied his orders that day − first oral and then written − temporarily blocking the deportations during the court fight over whether they are justified.

But Attorney General Pam Bondi led Justice Department lawyers in arguing Wednesday that revealing information about the flights could lead to "catastrophic" harm to foreign affairs.

More: Chief Justice Roberts' rebuke marks growing Trump showdown with judiciary

In a private filing Thursday, Robert Cerna, the acting field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Harlingen, Texas, where the flights departed, told Boasberg nothing new about the flights.

“I understand that Cabinet Secretaries are currently actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets privilege over the other facts requested by the Court’s order," Boasberg quoted Cerna as saying. "Doing so is a serious matter that requires careful consideration of national security and foreign relations, and it cannot properly be undertaken in just 24 hours.”

Cerna only provided his "understanding" that the Cabinet discussion was under way, Boasberg said. The judge also called a Friday hearing for a Justice Department official familiar with Cabinet discussions to testify.

"This is woefully insufficient," Boasberg said of the department's filing.

Judge's order blocking deportation of Venezuelans under appeal

The Justice Department has asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Boasberg's order blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. The appeals court set a Monday hearing for arguments.

Government lawyers have argued the president has the authority under the 1798 law to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan crime gang Tren de Aragua, which Trump designated as a terrorist group engaging in an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" into the U.S.

"There is no basis for a court to look behind those factual determinations," the lawyers wrote.

But lawyers for the Venezuelans from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Democracy Forward Foundation called the implications "staggering" for the Trump administration to use the Alien Enemies Act against a crime gang, rather than a country.

“If the President can designate any group as enemy aliens under the Act, and that designation is unreviewable, then there is no limit on who can be sent to a Salvadoran prison, or any limit on how long they will remain there," the lawyers wrote in a filing Tuesday.

What is the Alien Enemies Act?

Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act on Friday and that order went into effect on Saturday. The law hastens deportations without hearings for foreign citizens of a country at war with the United States or that has invaded the country.

Before Trump, the act had only been invoked three times, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. But Trump and his lawyers contend Tren de Aragua is invading the U.S. for purposes of crime and terrorism.

Trump has called for Boasberg's impeachment, prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts' rebuke of the president.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday the administration would respect judicial decisions but appeal adverse rulings to the Supreme Court, if necessary.

“The judges in this country are acting erroneously,” Leavitt said. "They are trying to clearly slow-walk this administration’s agenda and it’s unacceptable.”