Appeals Court Hands Trump Administration a Victory, Overrules Insane Boasberg Ruling

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to provide due process for Venezuelan migrants deported under the Alien Enemies Act, marking a short-term legal win for the administration.

Key Facts:

The D.C. Circuit Court granted the Justice Department’s request to pause a ruling by District Judge James Boasberg.
Boasberg had ordered the Trump administration to provide deported Venezuelan migrants with habeas corpus relief.
The migrants were removed under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and detained in El Salvador’s CECOT prison.
Trump officials argued the U.S. lacks jurisdiction over detainees held abroad and criticized the ruling as “constitutionally offensive.”
This is the latest in a series of legal clashes between Boasberg and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement.

The Rest of The Story:

Last week, Judge James Boasberg ruled that Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador were denied due process because they had no notice or chance to challenge their removals.

He ordered the Trump administration to create a plan allowing them to seek habeas corpus relief and challenge their classification as gang members.

The Justice Department pushed back quickly.

On Tuesday, they filed an emergency appeal, asking both the District Court and the D.C. Circuit Court to pause Boasberg’s ruling.

They argued that the judge overstepped, saying the court lacked jurisdiction because the migrants are held in El Salvador, not U.S. custody.

Despite Boasberg not directly ruling on jurisdiction, the appeals court sided with the administration, at least for now, issuing an administrative stay on the order.

The Justice Department called Boasberg’s decision “unprecedented, baseless, and constitutionally offensive,” warning it threatened national security and foreign policy interests.

Another strike out for Jeb Boasberg.

Yesterday a 3-judge panel (all Trump appointees) of DC appellate court put a hold on his latest gambit to give "due process" rights to illegal Venezuelans tied to Tren de Aragua incarcerated in El Salvador terror prison. pic.twitter.com/sEMBDrYC4S

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) June 11, 2025

Commentary:

Judge Boasberg has once again positioned himself as a roadblock to the Trump administration’s lawful immigration enforcement.

His pattern of rulings, especially on matters involving the deportation of dangerous individuals, raises serious questions about judicial overreach.

Boasberg’s attempt to extend habeas rights to migrants detained in a foreign country defies common legal standards.

His refusal to acknowledge jurisdictional limits while still demanding government action is not just suspect—it’s absurd.

The idea that a U.S. district judge can dictate the treatment of individuals held in a maximum-security foreign prison pushes legal norms to the breaking point.

Time and again, Boasberg has used the bench not to interpret the law but to oppose policy decisions he politically disagrees with.

This isn’t the first time he’s issued an emergency order attempting to block deportation flights—and when those flights continued as planned, he tried to hold the administration in contempt.

The appeals court rightly stepped in to stop this abuse of judicial power.

Fortunately, the appellate court’s stay shows there’s still a check on this kind of overreach.

Boasberg may have succeeded in delaying the process, but he won’t stop it.

Courts above him are likely to reverse many of his rulings, as they have before.