The Trump admin is in a battle with the courts. Trump wants to go straight to the High Court.
And now the U.S. Supreme Court has received a surprise emergency filing from President Trump’s DOJ.
Trump Fights Back: Supreme Court Showdown Looms Over Deporting Venezuelan Gang Members
The Trump administration took a stand Friday, urging the Supreme Court to green-light a presidential proclamation aimed at deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members straight to an El Salvador prison. The move comes after a lower court slapped a temporary pause on the plan—a decision the administration slams as an outrageous overreach that meddles with the executive branch’s core authority. This isn’t just about immigration; it’s about who runs the show when national security’s on the line.
The Justice Department didn’t mince words in its application, calling out U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg for tying the hands of federal officials. Boasberg’s temporary restraining order stops the government from shipping out migrants under the proclamation unless they get a chance to fight it in court. To the Trump team, that’s a judge playing armchair president, gumming up a process that’s supposed to be swift and decisive.
At the heart of the clash is a big question: who gets to call the shots on sensitive national security operations? The administration’s filing puts it plainly: “The case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country.” They’re not asking for opinions—they’re pointing to the Constitution and saying the president’s the one with the wheel.
“The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President. The republic cannot afford a different choice,” the Justice Department declared. It’s a line that lands like a gavel, framing this as a make-or-break moment for executive power. For Trump’s crew, letting judges second-guess the commander-in-chief isn’t just inconvenient—it’s a threat to the nation’s safety.
The proclamation leans on the Alien Enemies Act, a tool President Trump tapped to tackle the Tren de Aragua gang head-on. The filing paints a grim picture: this Venezuelan outfit’s a growing menace, endangering U.S. detention facilities and slipping into American communities. Trump’s not waiting around for them to set up shop—he wants them gone, and fast.
The Justice Department doubles down, arguing that deportations under this law are so tied to national security that courts should barely get a peek. “Removals under that law are so bound up with critical national-security judgments that they are barely amenable to judicial review at all,” they wrote. It’s a flex of presidential muscle, saying some decisions are too big—and too urgent—for the slow grind of judicial oversight.
🚨Trump confident he'll win MULTIPLE deportation fights at SCOTUS, @axios @MarcACaputo scoops
"We have the law and we have the numbers on the court," a Trump adviser tells us
DOJ official: "We really do want to push the court — ultimately the Supreme Court — to take a stand" 👇 pic.twitter.com/HvuhlTplne
— Mike Allen (@mikeallen) March 19, 2025
Lower Court Rulings Remain An Issue For Trump DOJ
But the lower court’s freeze isn’t just a legal headache—it’s a diplomatic mess, according to the administration. “Those orders—which are likely to extend additional weeks—now jeopardize sensitive diplomatic negotiations and delicate national-security operations, which were designed to extirpate TdA’s presence in our country before it gains a greater foothold,” the filing warns. The stakes? Keeping a foreign gang from digging deeper into U.S. soil.
Trump’s team isn’t buying the judge’s nationwide restraining order for a laundry list of reasons. They’re peeved about where the case landed—Washington, D.C.—and how it’s being fought. The lawsuit, cooked up by the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward, claims to represent five detainees plus others in the same boat. The administration’s response? Take it to Texas, where the detainees are locked up, and file individual challenges like grown-ups.
“Respondents may not leverage the APA to attack the President’s exercise of authority under the Alien Enemies Act in a forum of their choosing,” the Justice Department shot back. It’s a jab at what they see as a sneaky end-run around the system—using the Administrative Procedure Act to dodge the real fight in a court that’s got no business meddling.
This Supreme Court plea follows a 2-1 slap-down from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which refused to lift Boasberg’s order. That panel had its doubts, poking at Trump’s claim that migration counts as an “invasion” under the Alien Enemies Act. To the administration, that’s just more judicial nitpicking standing in the way of a president doing his job.
White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields didn’t hold back when asked about it Thursday. “President Trump took decisive action to protect the American people from members of a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” he said. “The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ failure to stay the radical decision of the District Court should shock the conscience of the American people, and constitutes a capitulation to the ongoing, unauthorized infringement on the President’s authority to protect the American people and remove members of a terrorist organization, TdA, from our nation.” It’s a rallying cry for Trump’s base—and a warning to the courts.
Now, it’s up to the Supreme Court to settle the score. For the Trump administration, this isn’t just about a handful of deportations—it’s about keeping the president’s power intact to shield the country from threats like Tren de Aragua. With the clock ticking and diplomatic deals hanging in the balance, they’re betting on the justices to back a commander-in-chief who’s not afraid to swing hard. America’s watching.
Tom Homan BLASTED critics of Trump’s crackdown on Venezuelan gang, calling it madness to let a terrorist group operate unchecked. He credited Trump with restoring safety and pointing to 261 arrests over the weekend.
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) March 17, 2025
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