A U.S. Appeals Court denied the Trump administration's request to reverse a District Court judge's order that blocked deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act.
President Donald Trump invoked the obscure wartime law from 1798 earlier this month. It grants the president sweeping powers to deport noncitizens without a hearing before a judge.
Hours after the president signed an executive order invoking the law, three planes with suspected Venezuelan gang members left the U.S.
Around that same time, District Court Judge James E. Boasberg was hearing a challenge to the deportations. He issued an oral order for the planes to return to the U.S, followed by a written order that no more migrants should be removed under the president's proclamation for at least two weeks.
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Despite the government's objections to the pause, the Appeals Court said the lower court has been handling the matter with "great expedition and circumspection."
"It's orders do nothing more than freeze the status quo until weighty and unprecedented legal issues can be addressed through a soon-forthcoming preliminary injunction proceeding," the court said. "There is neither jurisdiction nor reason for this court to interfere at this very preliminary stage or to allow the government to singlehandedly moot the Plaintiffs’ claims by immediately removing them beyond the reach of their lawyers or the court."
Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney for the ACLU on the case, said he was satisfied with the Appeals Court's decision.
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“We are pleased that the appeals court has denied the government’s request to continue sending people to a horrific foreign prison without due process," Gelernt said.
More than 200 people on the U.S. flights were sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Boasberg has criticized the government for defying his orders and has demanded more information about the flights.
The government has since invoked the state secrets privilege, which could allow it to withhold information from the court on national security grounds.
