Republican lawmaker wrangles with CNN host over judge halting deportation flights

The implications of the government’s position are staggering,

attorneys for deported Venezuelan immigrants wrote to an appeals court Tuesday

Accusations without evidence, the denial of access to legal counsel, and the apparent defiance of court orders not to deport accused individuals without a hearing represent a dangerous departure from these principles,

association president Christopher A. Wellborn said in a statement

It demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile,

he wrote

If the President can designate any group as enemy aliens under the Act, and that designation is unreviewable, then there is no limit on who can be sent to a Salvadoran prison, or any limit on how long they will remain there,

they added

I guess what upsets me is that you all at CNN continuously take the side of the far left, and that's why your ratings continue to plummet,

Burchett shot back

If you had a conservative one doing it, you all would be raising total hell,

he said of CNN, before accusing the liberal network again of "siding with a bunch of murderers."

You are so out of touch,

the lawmaker accused the CNN host as the two continued to speak over each other

All individuals on that third plane had Title 8 final removal orders and thus were not removed solely on the basis of the Proclamation at issue,

the official, Robert Cerna, said in the sworn statement

James Boasbergjudge

Written orders are crucial because they clarify the bounds of permissible conduct,

the attorneys told Boasberg on Monday

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

James Boasbergjudge

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

Karoline Leavittpress Secretary

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

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

Michael Kozakamerican diplomat

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

Michael Kozak, Senior Bureau Official at the State Department, wrote in a declaration filed Monday

Michael Kozakamerican diplomat

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

ICE understood the Proclamation Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua to be effective only once it was posted to the White House website, which was at or around 3:53 PM EDT on March 15, 2025,

ICE Acting Field Office Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Robert Cerna wrote in a declaration Tuesday

Pam Bondiattorney General

The Court... ordered the Government to address the form in which it can provide further details about flights that left the United States before 7:25 PM,

reads a filing Tuesday that was co-signed by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and others

While it is true that many of the [Tren de Aragua] members removed under the AEA do not have criminal records in the United States, that is because they have only been in the United States for a short period of time,

Cerna wrote

This is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately,

he told Justice Department lawyers representing the Trump administration

At this time approximately 54 members of [the Tren de Aragua gang] are in detention and on the detained docket, approximately 172 are on the non-detained docket, and approximately 32 are in criminal custody with active detainers against them,

he wrote