The Trump administration on Monday repeatedly stonewalled a federal judge seeking answers about whether the government had violated his order barring the deportation of more than 200 noncitizens without due process, escalating a conflict that threatened to become a constitutional crisis.
At a hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, a Justice Department lawyer refused to answer any detailed questions about the deportation flights to El Salvador that took place over the weekend, arguing that President Trump had broad authority to remove the immigrants from the United States under an obscure wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act.
The tense back-and-forth in court between Judge James E. Boasberg and the Justice Department lawyer, Abhishek Kambli, left open the possibility of further conflict down the road.
Judge Boasberg directed Mr. Kambli to inform him by noon on Tuesday exactly what time the government believes his order stopping the deportation flights went into effect, a piece of information that will be crucial as the judge seeks to determine whether the Trump administration had flouted his authority.
The legal battle over the removal of the immigrants was the latest — and perhaps most serious — flashpoint yet between federal courts, which have sought to curb many of Mr. Trump’s recent executive actions, and an administration that has repeatedly come close to openly refusing to comply with judicial orders.
Earlier Monday, Mr. Trump’s so-called border czar, Tom Homan, made defiant remarks on television, indicating that the administration planned to continue such deportations despite the court’s order — an action that could pit one of the coequal branches of the government against another.
“We’re not stopping,” Mr. Homan said on Monday, during an appearance on Fox News. “I don’t care what the judges think — I don’t care what the left thinks. We’re coming.”
Mr. Homan defended the administration’s decision to fly more than 200 immigrants to El Salvador over the weekend, including individuals the government identified as members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. He added that the public should expect more deportation flights “every day.”
As the hearing in Washington began, Judge Boasberg said he did not intend to rule on the merits on whether the Trump administration was correct in its decision to deport the immigrants.
Rather, the judge said, he wanted only to figure out the timeline of the flights to determine whether they were in violation of his ruling.
But Mr. Abhishek repeatedly refused to say anything about the flights, citing “national security.” He simply reiterated the government’s position that it had done nothing to violate Judge Boasberg’s order.
Even before the hearing began, Justice Department officials tried to have it canceled, writing to Judge Boasberg in the late afternoon to tell him there was no point in coming to court since they did not intend to provide him with any additional information about the deportation flights.
In an even more astonishing move, the department sent a letter to the federal appeals court sitting over Judge Boasberg, asking it to remove him from the proceedings entirely.
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