UJ
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On Friday, President Donald Trump sought to minimize his role in the implementation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 concerning the deportation of Venezuelan migrants, stating for the first time that he had not signed the proclamation, while still supporting his administration’s actions.
“I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,” Trump commented to reporters as he departed the White House on Friday evening.
The president responded to Judge James Boasberg’s remarks in court on Friday, expressing concerns that the proclamation had been “signed in the dark” and that migrants were swiftly placed on flights.
“Our priority is to remove criminals from our country. I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,” Trump reiterated. “Others managed it, but (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio has done excellent work and wanted them out, and we support that. We want to get criminals out of our country.”
The proclamation utilizing the Alien Enemies Act is recorded in the Federal Register with Trump’s signature at the bottom.
Shortly after Trump’s remarks on Friday, the White House clarified that he was not commenting on whether he signed the document last week.
“President Trump was clearly referring to the original Alien Enemies Act signed back in 1798,” a statement from the White House said. “The recent Executive Order was personally signed by President Trump invoking the Alien Enemies Act designating Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization to apprehend and deport these dangerous criminals.”
However, Trump’s claim that “other people handled it,” along with his specific mention of Rubio, contradicts the statement from the White House.
Trump brought up Rubio’s name without any prompt from the press. When asked about the possibility of another deportation flight to El Salvador amid ongoing legal disputes, Trump indicated it would be Rubio’s decision.
“I would suggest that I’d have the Secretary of State deal with it, as I’m not directly involved in that. However, the principle of removing dangerous individuals like murderers, rapists, drug dealers—these are truly bad people—out of our country, is something I ran on and won,” Trump stated.
During a hearing earlier on Friday, Boasberg committed to investigating whether Trump administration officials disobeyed his orders temporarily halting the use of the Alien Enemies Act for deportations by neglecting to turn two flights back last weekend.
“I will uncover whether they violated my order—who ordered this and what the repercussions will be,” Boasberg remarked toward the conclusion of the hour-long hearing regarding whether to lift the two orders he issued last Saturday.
Boasberg, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, expressed frustration over how the Justice Department managed the rapid case, beginning the hearing by criticizing the tone the administration adopted in some of its court submissions.
He told DOJ attorney Drew Ensign that the government used “intemperate and disrespectful” language that he had “never encountered from the United States” as they presented various legal arguments in front of him earlier that week, including the suggestion that his bench orders last Saturday held less weight than a written order issued shortly thereafter.
A significant portion of Friday’s hearing revolved around the Justice Department’s arguments for why Boasberg should lift his orders that currently stop Trump from utilizing the 18th-century law to swiftly deport some migrants accused of affiliations with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The administration contended that Boasberg exceeded his authority in blocking the removals, asserting that Trump’s application of the act is unassailable in federal courts.
This story has been updated with additional details.
UJ’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.
