(NewsNation) — Justice Department attorneys will appear before Judge James Boasberg on Thursday for another hearing on the Trump administration’s deportation flights, which transported accused gang members to El Salvador.
The hearing kicking off at 3 p.m. ET will center on whether the administration defied Boasberg’s order blocking the deportation of migrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 back in March.
Prior to the hearing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on the administration’s stance.
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“We maintain our position that violent foreign terrorists need to be deported from our nation’s interior,” Leavitt told NewsNation on Thursday.
The temporary restraining order halting deportations under the wartime act remains in place until at least April 12.
Timeline: Trump’s deportation flights
5 p.m.: Boasberg convenes a hearing
5:22 p.m.: Boasberg asks Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign to see if flights are about to happen, recessing the hearing
5:26 p.m.: First flight takes off
5:45 p.m.: A second plane takes to the air
5:55 p.m.: Boasberg’s hearing reconvenes, with no specifics from Ensign
6:45 p.m.: Boasberg issues a verbal order, telling Ensign: “Inform your clients of this immediately, and 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.”
7:26 p.m.: Boasberg releases a written order
Another plane took off at 7:37 p.m., though government lawyers maintain that no one on board was deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
All three planes landed in South America, despite Boasberg’s verbal and written orders.
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The Justice Department has withheld some information on the flights, claiming it as part of a “state secret privilege.”
The DOJ has said no planes took off after the written order was filed, but Boasberg said his verbal order should have been enough to ground the flights.
The American Civil Liberties Union says this case could set a precedent for generations: “The long-term implications are staggering, that now a president would have authority to name any gang as falling under the Alien Enemies Act, round up people who he claims are associated with that gang, and send them to a Salvadorian prison.”
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On Capitol Hill, some House Republicans are growing frustrated by federal judges like Boasberg, who they believe are blocking the administration‘s goals.
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, has filed articles of impeachment against Boasberg. Nearly two dozen House Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors. Impeachment is a measure Trump has called for previously.
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public statement in response to the calls for Boasberg’s removal.
“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,” Roberts said.
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Several Senate Republicans have also voiced concerns with impeachment or other threats against federal judges.
It would take a two-thirds vote from the Senate to remove a judge from the bench.
NewsNation’s Anna Kutz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
