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What if Trump's defying the courts?

If Donald Trump were ever to defy a federal court order, that would trigger a constitutional crisis. Now, that long-awaited crisis may be upon us.

On Saturday, Trump claimed the authority to deport Venezuelan nationals who, he claims, are members of a gang known as Tren de Aragua. Trump alleges that these foreign nationals may be swiftly removed under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law that has only been invoked three times in history.

Trump’s claim is highly dubious. The Alien Enemies Act permits the president to order the removal of all citizens of a foreign nation when there is a “declared war” with that nation, or when “invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government.”

The United States is not at war with Venezuela. Nor has the Venezuelan government invaded or even threatened to invade the United States.

Not long after Trump issued his proclamation, federal Judge James Boasberg issued two orders that temporarily halted it. 

One of those orders forbids the government from “removing members of such class (not otherwise subject to removal) pursuant to the Proclamation for 14 days or until further Order of the Court.”

Which brings us to the potential constitutional crisis. On Saturday, lawyers for the plaintiffs told Boasberg that two planes containing Venezuelans who were deported under the proclamation were “in the air.” During that hearing, Boasberg ordered “those people need to be returned to the United States.” They were not.

Monday, the plaintiffs’ attorneys cited publicly available flight data, as well as news reports, suggesting the Trump administration allowed these planes to land after Boasberg issued his order. If that is true, then the Trump administration defied the order and can potentially be held in contempt of court.

Meanwhile, in a second case known as Chehab v. Noem, the federal government may have removed Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese national and professor at Brown University’s medical school, in violation of a court order requiring the government to give the court 48 hours notice before she is removed. 

The facts in this case are rapidly evolving, and there are still some uncertainties about the timing of the flights in each case and under what authority the Venezuelan passengers were deported under. There’s even some uncertainty about when Boasberg officially issued his order binding the government.

Yet, even if it turns out that no one was deported illegally, the government still must comply with court orders against it, including temporary orders — a litigant cannot simply defy a court order because they think it is wrong.

Under normal circumstances, a party that defies a court order can be held in contempt of court and be subject to fines, imprisonment, or other sanctions. But it’s far from clear whether such a contempt order could be enforced if Trump is determined to give the middle finger to the judiciary.

As Alexander Hamilton wrote, the courts “must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments.” Federal court orders are enforced by the US Marshals Service, a law enforcement agency housed in the executive branch. So Trump could potentially order the Marshals to not enforce any court order against his administration.

If that happens, there are few legal mechanisms remaining to make Trump obey the law beyond impeachment, a remedy likely to be ineffective. 

Even if a Republican US House somehow agreed to impeach Trump, it would take 67 votes in the Senate to remove him. And the Senate couldn’t even declare Trump ineligible for the presidency after he incited a mob to attack the US Capitol in 2020.

And that means if it turns out that the administration is determined to violate court orders it does not like, it’s likely that the legal system has run out of tools to check Donald Trump.

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Shrinking schools: Celia Ford argues universities should use federal grant cuts to take care of a longstanding problem: relying too heavily on too large a pool of (grossly underpaid) PhDs.

Church and state: Ian Millhiser explains why the federal government is so into Christianity if the US is supposed to have separation between church and state.

All aboard: If you need a refresher on the gang at the center of Trump’s bid to activate the Alien Enemies Act, Christian Paz has you covered.

Family separation: Noor Abdalla, wife of detained Palestinian Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, spoke to NPR about his arrest and the days after. [NPR]

Inside Voice: The Trump administration has essentially shuttered Voice of America, a decision critics say paves the road for disinformation campaigns abroad. [BBC] 

Democratic dyspepsia: The Democratic Party, torn over how Senate leaders handled last week’s government shutdown drama, are trying to get themselves together. [Politico]

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If you’ve ever wondered how companies get tallow or salmon sperm for trendy “clean” beauty products, Sam Delgado is here to pull back the curtain. It should come as no surprise, but the answer isn’t pleasant. 

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Today’s edition was produced and edited by me, news editor Sean Collins. Did you find a four leaf clover yesterday? I hope so!

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