Democrat-aligned activist U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has ruled that illegal aliens deported by President Donald Trump can file legal challenges against their removals.
Boasberg, an Obama appointee, issued a sweeping order Wednesday.
The order compels the Trump administration to allow deported illegal aliens, most of whom were violent criminals and dangerous gang members, to challenge their removal in court.
“In short, the Government must facilitate the Class’s ability to seek habeas relief to contest their removal under the Act,” Boasberg wrote.
He continued by conceding that what this will look like in practice remains undecided.
The ruling stems from the administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
The law allows the U.S. to remove foreign nationals from hostile countries.
The Alien Enemies Act had been used to deport hundreds of illegal alien criminals directly to CECOT, El Salvador’s maximum-security prison.
Many of those deported to the prison were tied to MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, two violent street gangs designated as terrorist organizations.
Boasberg openly referenced Franz Kafka’s 1925 book “The Trial” in his ruling.
The activist judge portrays the deported individuals as victims of bureaucratic injustice:
“Such was the situation into which Frengel Reyes Mota, Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, and scores of other Venezuelan noncitizens say they were plunged on March 15, 2025.”
The ruling includes Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an MS-13 member who was deported to his native El Salvador.
Garcia was also known to U.S. authorities as a human trafficker and domestic abuser.
Boasberg, who previously accused the Trump administration of being in “willful disregard” of court orders, emphasized the lack of due process for those removed:
“Defendants plainly deprived these individuals of their right to seek habeas relief before their summary removal from the United States.”
While acknowledging the Trump administration might have correctly invoked the law and that some deportees might be gang members, Boasberg stated:
“But — and this is the critical point — there is simply no way to know for sure, as the CECOT Plaintiffs never had any opportunity to challenge the government’s say-so.”
Boasberg has repeatedly clashed with the administration.
The Obama-appointed judge has issued restraining orders and even demanded a deportation flight be reversed—a demand that went unmet.
His decision is likely to ignite new legal and political battles, especially as it potentially grants violent foreign nationals a path back into U.S. courtrooms.
