Trump DOJ hammers judge’s ‘digressive micromanagement,’ seeks more time to answer 5 questions

The Justice Department accused a federal judge of "digressive micromanagement" on Wednesday in relation to a case involving deportation flights that sent Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador over the weekend.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Justice Department to submit answers to five questions after it insisted Tuesday that the flights did not violate a court order. Boasberg granted an emergency order Saturday to temporarily block the flights from taking place for 14 days while his court considered the legality of using the 1798 wartime-era Alien Enemies Act to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua. 

"The Court has now spent more time trying to ferret out information about the Government’s flight schedules and relations with foreign countries than it did in investigating the facts before certifying the class action in this case," read a filing Wednesday that was co-signed by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and others. "That observation reflects how upside-down this case has become, as digressive micromanagement has outweighed consideration of the case’s legal issues." 

"The distraction of the specific facts surrounding the movements of an airplane has derailed this case long enough and should end until the Circuit Court has had a chance to weigh in. The Government respects this Court and has complied with its request to present the Government’s position on the legality of the Court’s [Temporary Restraining Order] and the Government’s compliance with that TRO," they wrote. 

DOJ INSISTS EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS DID NOT VIOLATE COURT ORDER

Boasberg ordered the Justice Department on Tuesday to answer five questions, submitting declarations to him under seal by noon on Wednesday: "1) What time did the plane take off from U.S. soil and from where? 2) What time did it leave U.S. airspace? 3) What time did it land in which foreign country (including if it made more than one stop)? 4) What time were individuals subject solely to the Proclamation transferred out of U.S. custody? and 5) How many people were aboard solely on the basis of the Proclamation?" 

However, the Justice Department said in their filing today that "Defendants are currently evaluating whether to invoke the state secrets privilege as to portions of the information sought by this Court’s order." 

"Whether and how to invoke that privilege involves both weighty considerations and specific procedures that are not amenable to the 21-hour turnaround period currently provided by this Court’s order," it continued. 

"The underlying premise of these orders, including the most recent one requiring the production of these facts ex parte today at noon, is that the Judicial Branch is superior to the Executive Branch, particularly on non-legal matters involving foreign affairs and national security. The Government disagrees. The two branches are coequal, and the Court’s continued intrusions into the prerogatives of the Executive Branch, especially on a non-legal and factually irrelevant matter, should end," the Justice Department added.

It also said "disclosure of the information sought could implicate the affairs of United States allies and their cooperation with the United States Government in fighting terrorist organizations" and "such disclosure would unquestionably create serious repercussions for the Executive Branch’s ability to conduct foreign affairs." 

IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

"What began as a dispute between litigants over the President’s authority to protect the national security and manage the foreign relations of the United States pursuant to both a longstanding Congressional authorization and the President’s core constitutional authorities has devolved into a picayune dispute over the micromanagement of immaterial factfinding," the Justice Department declared. 

Boasberg responded to the Justice Department Wednesday by giving it another day to answer his five questions "or to invoke the state-secrets doctrine and explain the basis for such invocation," according to court filings.

"Mere hours before their filing deadline and characterizing the Court’s proceedings as ‘a picayune dispute over the micromanagement of immaterial factfinding,’ Defendants seek to stay the Court’s Order requiring them to produce in camera particular information," Boasberg wrote. "Although their grounds for such request at first blush are not persuasive, the Court will extend the deadline for one more day."

"The Court seeks this information, not as a ‘micromanaged and unnecessary judicial fishing expedition,’ but to determine if the Government deliberately flouted its Orders issued on March 15, 2025, and, if so, what the consequences should be," Boasberg added.

TRUMP CALLS FOR JUDGE IN DEPORTATION LEGAL BATTLE TO BE IMPEACHED

In granting the emergency order Saturday, Boasberg sided with the plaintiffs – Democracy Forward and the ACLU – who had argued that the deportations would likely pose imminent and "irreparable" harm to the migrants under the time proposed.  

Boasberg also ordered the Trump administration on Saturday to immediately halt any planned deportations and to notify their clients that "any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States," he said. 

However, the decision apparently came too late to stop two planes filled with more than 200 migrants who were deported to El Salvador.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview that a plane carrying hundreds of migrants, including more than 130 persons removed under the Alien Enemies Act, had already "left U.S. airspace" by the time the order was handed down. 

Fox News' Breanne Deppisch and David Spunt contributed to this report.

DeSantis proposes solution as Trump’s agenda is stymied by judges

As aspects of President Donald Trump's agenda are stymied by judges amid legal challenges, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suggested that Congress could strip federal courts of jurisdiction.

"Congress has the authority to strip jurisdiction of the federal courts to decide these cases in the first place. The sabotaging of President Trump’s agenda by ‘resistance’ judges was predictable — why no jurisdiction-stripping bills tee’d up at the onset of this Congress?" DeSantis wrote in a Wednesday post on X.

When someone responded by asking how such a move could pass when 60 votes would be needed to push it through the Senate, DeSantis replied, "Attach it to a ‘must pass' bill…"

JUDGE ORDERS REINSTATEMENT OF USAID FUNCTIONS, SAYS DOGE EFFORT TO SHUTTER AGENCY LIKELY UNCONSTITUTIONAL

DeSantis, who sought the 2024 Republican presidential nod but ultimately dropped out and backed Trump after the GOP Iowa presidential caucus, floated the idea of stripping federal courts of jurisdiction when replying to a tweet from U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.

"Lots of noise about impeachment. We must study every ruling & act accordingly w/ everything on the table (noting: 14 Dem votes required in Senate). But, more fertile ground… 1) House can pass a resolution stating there is/was an invasion, 2) we can defund radical courts," Roy had posted.

EL SALVADOR'S BUKELE WEIGHS IN AFTER TRUMP'S CALL TO IMPEACH JUDGE: ‘THE U.S. IS FACING A JUDICIAL COUP’

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump called for the impeachment of a judge, apparently referring to Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

"This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President," Trump declared in the post. "This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY."

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, announced that he had introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP'S TRANSGENDER MILITARY EXECUTIVE ORDER

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement on Tuesday, "For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."

Fox News' Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report

Federal judge blocks Trump’s transgender military executive order

A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has blocked President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. 

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pentagon from enforcing Trump's order, which asserted "expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service." The order, issued Jan. 27, instructed the Department of Defense (DOD) to update its medical standards for military service and pronoun policies, stating that "beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life." 

Reyes said that the executive order likely poses constitutional rights violations. 

"The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes," Reyes wrote, delaying her order until Friday morning to allow time for the Trump administration to appeal. "We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect."

VA RESCINDS 2018 DIRECTIVE ON TRANSGENDER TREATMENTS, ALIGNING WITH TRUMP 'TWO SEXES' EO

Transgender individuals were considered unfit for U.S. military service until the DOD changed its policy during former President Barack Obama's second term. 

In her 79-page ruling, Reyes in part cites Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical "Hamilton" to justify blocking the ban on transgender troops. 

"Women were ‘included in the sequel’ when passage of the Nineteenth Amendment granted them the right to vote in 1920," Reyes wrote in the footnotes, adding, "That right is one of the many that thousands of transgender persons serve to protect."

READ THE JUDGE'S ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Reyes said plaintiffs "face a violation of their constitutional rights, which constitutes irreparable harm." 

"Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them," the judge wrote, adding that the defendants, on the other hand, "have not shown they will be burdened by continuing the status quo pending this litigation, and avoiding constitutional violations is always in the public interest." 

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller condemned Reyes' ruling on X, writing, "District court judges have now decided they are in command of the Armed Forces…is there no end to this madness?" 

Reyes was the second judge of the day to rule against the Trump administration. Trump called for impeaching a third judge who temporarily blocked deportation flights, drawing a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

TRANSGENDER SAILORS, MARINES OFFERED BENEFITS TO VOLUNTARILY LEAVE SERVICE OR FACE BEING KICKED OUT

"Unelected rogue judges are trying to steal years of time from a 4 year term. It’s the most egregious theft one can imagine: robbing the vote and voice of the American People," Miller wrote in another X post. 

In response to Trump's executive order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy on Feb. 26 that presumptively disqualifies people with gender dysphoria from military service. The policy says, "a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service."

Plaintiffs’ attorneys contend Trump’s order violates transgender people’s rights to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment.

Government lawyers argue that military officials have broad discretion to decide how to assign and deploy service members without judicial interference.

Reyes said she did not take lightly her decision to issue an injunction blocking Trump’s order, noting that "Judicial overreach is no less pernicious than executive overreach." However, she said, it was also the responsibility of each branch of government to provide checks and balances for the others, and the court "therefore must act to uphold the equal protection rights that the military defends every day."

Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members, according to The Associated Press. 

In 2016, a DOD policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Trump’s first term, he issued a directive to ban transgender service members. The Supreme Court allowed the ban to take effect. 

Biden, a Democrat who served as Obama's vice president, scrapped it when he took office.

Six service members and two people wanting to enlist in the military sued the government in January over Trump’s executive order. About a dozen others, including nine people on active duty, have since joined the lawsuit. Their attorneys, from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLAD Law, said transgender troops "seek nothing more than the opportunity to continue dedicating their lives to defending the Nation."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

‘I’m the future’: House Dem Green’s GOP challenger dishes on campaign after outburst during Trump speech

EXCLUSIVE: Deddrick Wilmer, who is running to unseat longtime Democratic Congressman Al Green in Texas, spoke to Fox News Digital about why he decided to enter the race and what his priorities will be if elected. 

Wilmer, running as a "compassionate conservative" Republican against Green in Texas’ 9th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital that "the difference between myself and the incumbent is that I'm out to provide solutions and bringing people together versus, you know, the outburst on the floor."

Green dominated the headlines after being removed from President Trump’s speech to Congress earlier this month, and Wilmer told Fox News Digital he "wouldn’t have reacted that way" but that he is focused on what his constituents want in terms of policies. 

"They want the future," Wilmer said. "My incumbent has served this community well for over the years, but it's time for the future. You know and again, I stress this, it's all about coming up with policies and opportunities for jobs, lowering the cost of food and services, building relationships across the aisle. This is about the 9th District. This is not about my incumbent. This is about the 9th district. Sometimes, when we focus on national issues, sometimes we neglect, you know, our constituents and our citizens in our home district. Charity begins at home."

REP. AL GREEN BLAMES 'INVIDIOUS DISCRIMINATION' FOR BEING CENSURED AFTER DISRUPTING TRUMP'S SPEECH

Wilmer told Fox News Digital that he plans to campaign on "kitchen table issues," including lowering healthcare premiums, implementing more flood protections in Houston, lowering the cost of living and bringing businesses to his district. 

Green, who has served in Congress since 2005, has cruised to victory in all of his re-election campaigns, including a 50-point win the last time he went head-to-head with a Republican in 2022. 

Wilmer told Fox News Digital that Green has served the district "well" but that when he talks to residents in the district he sees a desire for change. 

HOUSE DEM PUSHES TO CENSURE BOEBERT OVER TV INTERVIEW ABOUT AL GREEN

"I'm the future, he's the past," Wilmer said. 

"At the core of it all, we must ask ourselves what is our true calling?" Wilmer told Fox News Digital. "What is the meaning and purpose of life? Our founding Fathers built this great nation on the principle that we must go beyond simply helping ourselves. We must also support those who cannot care for themselves. That means prioritizing our sick and elderly, standing by our military and veterans, ensuring that every man, woman and child is protected by the laws and leadership that guide our country forward."

"America has always been an experiment, a nation striving for perfection. Excellence. Has she always been perfect? No. Far from it. But like a determined spirit, she constantly strives to be better. To set an example for the world. That is why I love this country. That's why I call her my America. Because she is mine. Always has been. Always will be. Together we will move Texas forward. Together we will move America forward."

Fox News Digital reached out to Green's office for comment.

Green, who has filed multiple articles of impeachment against President Trump, was censured by Congress for his outburst during Trump's speech. 

"I think that on some questions, questions of conscience, you have to be willing to suffer the consequences," Green said about his outburst, which he says was focused on potential cuts to Medicaid. "And I have said I will. I will suffer whatever the consequences are, because I don't believe that in the richest country in the world, people should be without good healthcare."

Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners

President Donald Trump fired two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, both of whom now say they plan to sue to get their jobs back.

The firings hit Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter, who represent the Democratic minority in the five-member commission. The White House did not immediately confirm Trump's firing of the officials to Fox News Digital, but both Bedoya and Slaughter released public statements saying they intend to sue to return to their roles.

"I'm a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me," Bedoya wrote on social media, arguing Trump wants the FTC to "be a lapdog for his golfing buddies."

Slaughter released a similar statement saying Trump "illegally fired" her, arguing the move was "violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent."

RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP'S 'GOLDEN AGE' AGENDA

"We are still commissioners. We're suing to make that clear for everyone," Bedoya said in a follow-up statement.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Republican first appointed to the commission by President Biden and then made chairman by Trump, said he saw no issues with the firings on Tuesday.

"President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government," Ferguson wrote. "I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government."

"I wish Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya well, and I thank them for their service," he added.

The FTC firings are only the latest battle over the limits of Trump's executive authority. His administration is facing numerous lawsuits from disgruntled former employees across the federal government, and several federal judges have sought to hamper his administration's efforts.

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BAN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg verbally issued a 14-day restraining order to immediately halt the Trump administration's Tren de Aragua deportation plan. Trump was deporting the gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, and the order could have forced two planes full of TdA gang members to return to U.S. soil.

Trump's efforts to trim the federal government with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have also led to a litany of legal challenges.

Reuters contributed to this report.

El Salvador’s Bukele weighs in after Trump’s call to impeach judge: ‘The U.S. is facing a judicial coup’

After U.S. President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of a judge, President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele asserted in a post on X that "The U.S. is facing a judicial coup."

Elon Musk agreed with the foreign leader, sharing the tweet and commenting, "1000%."

In a post on Truth Social, Trump, apparently referring to Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, called the judge a "Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator," noting that he had been nominated by President Barack Obama.

TRUMP CALLS FOR JUDGE IN DEPORTATION LEGAL BATTLE TO BE IMPEACHED

"This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY," Trump declared in the post.

Trump recently issued a proclamation that pointed to the Alien Enemies Act as providing the authority to remove Venezuelan citizens 14 and older who belong to Tren de Aragua if they are not naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the U.S.

In response to a legal challenge regarding Trump's move, Judge Boasberg sought to temporarily block the removal of such individuals pursuant to the proclamation.

SCOOP: IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP TREN DE ARAGUA DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

But flights that had reportedly departed prior to the judge's order did not reverse course.

The administration recently transported 261 illegal aliens to El Salvador, of whom 137 were deported under the Alien Enemies Act, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted on Monday.

Bukele announced on Sunday that "the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country," adding that "the U.S. has also sent us 23 MS-13 members wanted by Salvadoran justice, including two ringleaders."

US PAID EL SALVADOR TO TAKE VENEZUELAN TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBERS: ‘PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS

Trump raised the issue again in a post shortly after midnight. "If a President doesn’t have the right to throw murderers, and other criminals, out of our Country because a Radical Left Lunatic Judge wants to assume the role of President, then our Country is in very big trouble, and destined to fail!" he declared in the post shared just minutes into Wednesday.

How Donald Trump dominates the news, both positively and negatively

The Associated Press, not exactly a White House favorite, has shot itself in the foot.

The following retraction is nothing short of humiliating:

"The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard saying President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘are very good friends.’ Gabbard was talking about Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The AP will publish a corrected version of the story."

TRUMP ACCUSES BIG MEDIA OF ‘ILLEGAL’ REPORTING, VIRTUALLY ABOLISHES VOICE OF AMERICA

Whoa! How do you run that piece in the first place without having it nailed down?

The wire service, you may recall, is suing the Trump administration for ousting its reporters from the White House pool over its refusal to refer to "Gulf of America." So, this unforced error puts the White House in I-told-you-so mode.

On Monday, when Trump was at the Kennedy Center, an NBC reporter tried to ask a question, Trump asked, "Who are you with?"

After the journalist identified himself, the president said: "I don’t want to talk to NBC anymore. I think you’re so discredited." 

The Trump team later posted the exchange with "mic drop" emojis.

The point is that Trump dominates the news no matter what he does. And, as I’ve been saying for the 35 years I’ve known him, even a torrent of negative publicity helps him because his media detractors are playing on his turf.

While Trump was visiting the Kennedy Center, he "floated" the idea of personally hosting the annual awards show. And who’s going to stop him, since he’s purged the Democratic board members?

ELON MUSK, LIGHTNING ROD, WHO CALLS AN OPPONENT 'TRAITOR,' BECOMES A HIGH-PROFILE TARGET

The ratings, he said, would skyrocket. And he’s right about that.

As the New York Times notes, a younger Trump dreamed of becoming a Broadway producer. He now says the Kennedy Center will concentrate on producing "Broadway hits."

And by the way, Trump released 80,000 pages of JFK assassination files yesterday and has asked for no redactions.

The president can make news on the slightest whim, just by posting on Truth Social.

He just went after Judge James Boasberg, who ordered the deportations of mostly Venezuelan gang members to be stopped while planes were still in the air:   

"This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!" WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY."

The posting drew a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts:

"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."

DONALD TRUMP, FACING TERRIBLE COVERAGE, SOFTENS TONE AND TACTICS FOR ELON MUSK’S DOGE CRUSADE

The president is also renewing his habit of going after journalists personally. Ashley Parker had a highly successful career at the New York Times and Washington Post–she’s also an MSNBC analyst–who recently joined the Atlantic.

She asked Trump for an interview. 

After dismissing the liberal Atlantic as a "Third Rate Magazine," Trump posted:

"Ashley Parker is not capable of doing a fair and unbiased interview. She is a Radical Left Lunatic, and has been as terrible as is possible for as long as I have known her. To this date, she doesn’t even know that I won the Presidency THREE times. If you have some other reporter, let us know, but Ashley is not capable or competent enough to understand the intricacies of High Level politics."

Parker is restrained, not radical, and in bringing up the 2020 election, Trump is asking her to accept something that has never been proven in court or by his own attorney general.

A magazine spokesperson said, "Atlantic reporters are diligent and fair and continue to pursue stories of importance to the public."

And then there is, you know, the actual job of the presidency. Trump reported yesterday on his 90-minute phone call with Vladimir Putin.

They "stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia" – no surprise there.

"The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace…. 

"They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel."

And: "The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside," including "enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability."

It seems to me that Trump got next to nothing. A 30-day pause in attacks on energy plants and infrastructure, that’s about it. Everything else is subject to negotiations, which gives the Kremlin more time to keep attacking Ukraine and lock in further territorial gains. A real cease-fire seems a long way off.

But whether Trump is on the attack or being attacked, he is driving the news every day, even inserting himself into culture and sports topics. Keep that in mind when the ratings-driven president hosts the Kennedy Center honors.

Fox News Politics Newsletter: Trump Calls for ‘Lunatic’ Judge’s Impeachment

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here's what's happening…

-Vance knocks globalization's 'cheap labor' and lauds 'America's great industrial comeback' at AI summit

-Thousands of new JFK assassination files set to be released after Trump announcement

-Trump, supporters seek to push back against 'activist' judges

President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of a judge in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, apparently referring to Judge James E. Boasberg, who recently tried to block deportation flights to El Salvador.

President Barack Obama appointed Boasberg to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Boasberg became chief judge of the district court in 2023. 

"This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President - He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY," Trump declared in the post…Read more

SECOND OPINION: Trump to declassify JFK files: Famed doctor who investigated assassination predicts what Americans could learn

'ROGUE': Allowing judges to impede Trump on immigration poses national security threat: expert

TRUMP VS COURTS: Trump administration has noon deadline to disclose deportation flights after judge's order

MAGA MANDATE: Vice President JD Vance to play key role with RNC to grow GOP majority in 2026

'LEAVE NOW': Trump tells illegal immigrants to self-deport using CBP Home app in new video

'LOW-LEVEL' JUDGES: Who are the federal judges going toe-to-toe against the Trump agenda?

'MAJOR VICTORY': Alleged MS-13 leader on FBI most wanted list being extradited to US, Patel says

ALL THE 'RAGE': Canada 'rage room' lets visitors smash Trump, Vance, Musk portraits to release tariff angst

MILITARY SHAKE-UP: Ukraine's Zelenskyy replaces top military official ahead of Trump-Putin call

'DEATH SENTENCE': Israeli strikes on Hamas amount to 'death sentence' for remaining hostages, terror group says

'BARBARIC': Trump's DOJ to tackle 'barbaric Hamas terrorists' with new Oct. 7 task force

'IN PROGRESS': Trump now speaking with Russia's Putin about ending Ukraine war

'UNCONSTITUTIONAL': Impeachment articles hit judge who ordered Trump to stop Tren de Aragua deportation flights

'EXCESSIVE INFLUENCE': Bipartisan bill seeks to stop pharmacy middlemen from driving up drug costs

HIDING THE EVIDENCE: Vanderbilt Med Center 'hiding' DEI resources behind password-protected web pages: report

'UNPRECEDENTED': Newsom asks for nearly another $3B for state health program overwhelmed by illegal immigrants

'THAT'S WHAT WE DO': University doctor boasts about finding loopholes to skirt anti-DEI laws

CAMPUS CRAZINESS: Barnard 'poisoned' by 'DEI propaganda,' says influencer who uncovered anti-Israel sentiment on campus

'WHACK NUTS': Sheriff pushes back after blue state leaders sues to stop immigration enforcement

'PROTECT OUR SOVEREIGNTY': Pentagon deploys Navy warship that fought Houthis to new US southern border mission in line with Trump order

'MY PROMISE TO YOU': Dan Bongino sworn in as FBI deputy director: 'Critical time for our nation'

'CREDIBILITY ON FIRE': Red state hunts Tren de Aragua terrorists as judges throw up obstacles

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

New GOP proposal unshackles victims of sanctuary policies to demand accountability: ‘Reset our system’

EXCLUSIVE: Victims of sanctuary policies could soon be able to sue the state, county and local governments that enacted them, according to a new proposal by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

The Sanctuary City Accountability Act (SCAA) would allow Americans nationwide to sue over the policies that limit the ability of local law enforcement to comply with federal immigration laws. Specifically, the bill would permit victims and their immediate families to take legal action over crimes that impacted them as a direct result of the policies.

"For years, sanctuary cities have openly defied federal law and endangered the American people by not only shielding illegals from the consequences of their crimes, but also ensuring they are allowed to remain free to victimize even more innocent Americans," Issa told Fox News Digital in a statement. "It’s time to reset our system and put the law on the side of American citizens, not criminal illegals.

‘BRING IT ON’: SHERIFF PUSHES BACK AFTER BLUE STATE LEADERS SUE TO STOP IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

The legislation is expected to go through the House Judiciary Committee, of which Issa is a senior member.

"Any individual who is a national of the United States may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States against a sanctuary jurisdiction in which an alien was located if that alien commits a crime against that individual, or an immediate family member of that individual, in the sanctuary jurisdiction, or in any other jurisdiction to which the alien later relocates, for such injunctive relief or compensatory damages as may be appropriate," the bill's text states.

In the legislation, sanctuary policies are considered ones that limit Immigration and Customs Enforcement "detainer compliance" and not allowing ICE "access to interview incarcerated aliens."

RED STATE HUNTS TREN DE ARAGUA TERRORISTS AS JUDGES LIGHT ‘CREDIBILITY ON FIRE’ FIGHTING DEPORTATIONS: SENATOR

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE 

It is also meant to build on the proposed Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act, which would make it federal law to allow local authorities to work with the federal government on illegal immigration issues.

The proposal comes as San Diego County, which Issa represents parts of, failed to scrap its "super sanctuary" policy established in December during a vote earlier this month.

"This is deeply disappointing," Republican Supervisor Jim Desmond said in a statement about the failed repeal vote. "This was not about politics. This was about ensuring that criminals—rapists, child abusers, burglars, and violent offenders—are removed from our communities. Instead, fear and misinformation won the day, leaving law-abiding residents at greater risk."

LAKEN RILEY ACT UNLEASHES FEDS TO HUNT VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS IN FLORIDA: LAWMAKER

Desmond and Supervisor Joel Anderson voted to get rid of the policy that was put in place by the board’s Democratic majority in December, Democratic Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe argued that repealing it would then give a role outside the scope of the county’s purview. The vote for the repeal was 2-1-1, meaning that nobody reached the necessary majority, as there was also a vacancy on the five-person board.

"Even in the very wording of policy L-2, it doesn’t protect criminals. What it was about is ensuring that this county stays in its lane and protects our region and that the federal government stays in its lane," Montgomery Steppe said before voting "no." Her Democratic colleague, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, abstained.

Recent legislative policy changes have been prompted by crimes committed by illegal immigrants, including the Laken Riley Act, which prompts the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants facing charges or conviction for a range of crimes, including burglary, assault and "any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person." The bill passed with some bipartisan support. 

Judicial halt of deportation flights puts US foreign policy at risk, career State Dept official claims

The United States' foreign policy could be in jeopardy after a federal judge ordered deportation flights with Venezuelan gang members be returned to the states, a career State Department official argued in a recent court filing. 

Michael Kozak, Senior Bureau Official at the State Department, wrote in a declaration filed Monday that, "The foreign policy of the United States would suffer harm if the removal of individuals associated with TdA were prevented," given the "significant time and energy" already invested by U.S. government officials. 

Obama-appointed, D.C.-based Judge James Boasberg issued an order Saturday to immediately halt any planned deportations of Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. Boasberg also ordered the Trump administration to notify their clients that "any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States."

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS NOON DEADLINE TO DISCLOSE DEPORTATION FLIGHT DETAILS AFTER JUDGE'S ORDER

The flights also included alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). 

Kozak noted the possibility "that foreign interlocutors might change their minds" over accepting certain individuals associated with TdA "or might otherwise seek to leverage this as an ongoing issue."

"These harms could arise even in the short term, as future conversations with foreign interlocutors seeking to resolve foreign policy matters would need to take this issue into account along with other issues, instead of allowing the discussions to fully move on to the other issues," Kozak wrote. 

Kozak did not further expand upon the "harms" that could arise as a result of Boasberg's order in his declaration. 

JUDGE WHO ORDERED DEPORTATION FLIGHTS OF VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS BE RETURNED FACES CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT

"TDA is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital in a statement. "They rape, maim and murder for sport. TDA is responsible for some of the most heinous crimes that have occurred on US soil in recent years, including the murders of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray. TDA is a direct threat to the national security of the United States."

The Trump administration had attempted to invoke a 1798 law to immediately deport said individuals for 14 days. 

Boasberg sided with the plaintiffs, Democracy Forward and the ACLU in granting the emergency order and ruling that the deportations would likely pose imminent and "irreparable" harm. 

"Given the exigent circumstances that [the court] has been made aware of this morning, it has determined that an immediate Order is warranted to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set," Boasberg wrote. 

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP'S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

In a Monday-evening hearing, Boasberg proceeded to ask the Trump administration to submit more information regarding the flights.

Both parties are ordered to appear back in court on Friday.

In its Monday motion to vacate the order, the Trump Department of Justice argued that not only did the court not have jurisdiction to hear the plaintiffs' claims, but Trump's "determination that an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ has occurred" is not subject to judicial review. 

"The Constitution simply provides no basis for a court to determine when this AEA trigger has been met, and thus there is no basis for second-guessing the policy judgment by the Executive that such an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ is occurring," the motion read. 

The motion also argued that the administration's "Proclamation" and its implementation "are perfectly lawful."

"Under his authority to protect the nation, the President determined that TdA represents a significant risk to the United States, that it is intertwined and advancing the interests of a foreign government in a manner antithetical to the interests of the United States, and that its members should be summarily removed from this country as part of that threat," the motion continued. 

Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.