It’s Not a Movie: Courts’ Dramatic Smackdown of Judge Boasberg
20th August 2025
It’s a tale fit for a thriller novel or action movie: planes on the tarmac waiting to take members of a violent gang to a foreign prison, lawyers rushing to the courthouse to stop them, presidential proclamations, and a judge on a mission to impose his own brand of justice. But this drama isn’t made up—it’s very real, and it’s playing out right now in Washington, D.C.
Leading the cast is President Donald Trump, who wants to rid the country of a violent gang. The legal backstory for his actions has three parts.
The first is the Constitution, which the Supreme Court has long held gives the president authority over matters involving international relations that exceeds that permitted in domestic matters.
The second piece is the Alien Enemies Act, enacted in 1798. It authorizes the president to apprehend and remove the natives, citizens, or subjects of a hostile foreign government if that government attempts or threatens an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the U.S.
Third, the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the secretary of state to designate as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, or FTOs, groups that engage in terrorist activity and threaten the safety of Americans or the United States.