Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members

U.S. Venezuelan deportees imprisoned in El Salvador
US Venezuelan deportees imprisoned in El Salvador
(Image credit: Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)

What happened

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg Monday reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members without a hearing, under a controversial interpretation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.

Who said what

"Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act" in World War II, appellate Judge Patricia Millett said to government lawyer Drew Ensign. "We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy," Ensign said, arguing that Boasberg's ruling was an "unprecedented and enormous intrusion" on the president's foreign policy decisions.

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The Justice Department's unusual invocation of the state secrets privilege was a "patent act of defiance" to Boasberg that "sharply escalated the growing conflict between the administration and the judge — and, by extension, the federal judiciary — in a case that legal experts fear is precipitating a constitutional crisis," The New York Times said.

What next?

The appellate panel did not issue an opinion, but its eventual ruling "probably will shape how the Trump administration uses the Alien Enemies Act going forward," The Washington Post said, at least until the Supreme Court weighs in.

Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.