White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday doubled down on the administration’s criticism of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, arguing he had overstepped his legal authority in trying to block deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants.
“It’s very, very clear that this is an activist judge trying to usurp the president’s authority under the Alien Enemies Act. The president has this power, and that’s why this deportation campaign has continued,” Leavitt said in a White House press briefing. “Judge Boasberg is a Democrat activist.”
Boasberg, a district judge appointed by George W. Bush and then promoted by Barack Obama, temporarily blocked deportations of Venezuelan migrants the administration has claimed are gang members to El Salvador over the weekend. To carry out the deportations, President Donald Trump employed the Alien Enemies Act, a little used war-time authority. Boasberg ordered the deportations to stop — and for any planes in the air to return — while the court considered the use and reach of the act. But 250 deportees wound up in El Salvadoran custody anyway.