A federal judge has given the Department of Justice more time to respond in a case involving the deportation flights of suspected Venezuelan gang members.
The government now has until 10 a.m. on Friday to "submit a sworn declaration by a person with direct involvement in the Cabinet-level discussions regarding invocation of the state-secrets privilege."
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg is seeking more information about three flights that departed the U.S. on Saturday — after President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, an obscure wartime law from 1798 that grants the president sweeping powers to deport noncitizens without a hearing before a judge.
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On Saturday, Boasberg verbally ordered the flights to return and later issued a written order barring further removals under the president’s proclamation for at least two weeks.
Despite this, the flights continued on to their destinations. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said 238 suspected gang members arrived in his country and were transferred to the "Terrorism Confinement Center," where they will apparently be held for a year.
Boasberg has criticized government attorneys, accusing the administration of carrying out deportations in defiance of his order. The federal government, however, maintains that the deportations complied with Boasberg's written order.
The DOJ has been less forthcoming when asked for specifics about the flights, saying it is still considering whether to invoke the state-secrets privilege.
On Thursday, Boasberg ordered the government to submit a declaration by March 25 explaining whether it will invoke the privilege and why it believes it did not violate his temporary order by allowing the flights to continue.
