Assault on Justice (Source: here)
It began, as one might expect from the Trump Administration, with a full-on government attack on a group of people with few or no rights, namely alleged criminals and undocumented immigrants.
But Trump’s real target were neither the criminals nor immigrants. Instead, he is aiming at nothing less than the US justice system, the last bastion standing between democracy and dictatorship in the United States.
Trump's assault began on 14 March 2025 and it is still ongoing. In this note, I will outline the key developments so far and then explain the broader significance of what is going on.
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On Friday 14 March 2025, Trump signed a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.
The AEA is a broad, centuries-old law, which gives the president of the United States powers to detain and deport citizens of an "enemy" nation without following the normal processes. Until now, the draconian act has only been used in war time.
Most infamously, it was used to imprison upwards of 120,000 people of Japanese descent without trial during World War II (plus a smaller number of people of German and Italian ancestry). It was also used during the War of 1812 and World War I.
The White House made Trump’s AEA proclamation public on the afternoon of 15 March, 2025. During the announcement, Trump said the act would be used to deport hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members, who Trump accused of "perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States".
The delay of the White House announcement by 24 hours appears to have been a deliberate ploy to avoid legal challenges, because by the time Trump was making his announcement the final preparations for the deportations were already well underway.
At 5 pm on 15 March 2025, James Boasberg, the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, began an emergency hearing in response to the White House announcement to consider a temporary restraining order to prevent the deportations.
However, just 22 minutes later Boasberg learned that the planes with the deportees were about to take off, so he paused the hearing in order to obtain confirmation from the Department of Justice that this was indeed the case.
As it happens, the planes were indeed taking off. Within three minutes of Boasberg pausing the hearing, the first of two flights carrying deportees took off from Texas en route to Honduras. Nineteen minutes later, a second plane carrying deportees took off.
Alleged Tren de Aragua gang members arrive in El Salvador (Source: here)
Boasberg’s hearing resumed at 6.05pm. Department of Justice officials tried to stall proceedings by refusing to disclose if the deportations were ongoing, citing national security concerns, but eventually they conceded that the flights had indeed left.
At 6:46 pm, Boasberg verbally ordered the Department of Justice to immediately turn around two planes.
But the planes do not turn around.
instead, shortly after Boasberg’s verbal order, the planes landed in Honduras. At this point, the Trump Administration sought once again to stall the judge by appealing his decision. The flights took off from Honduras and shortly after midnight on 16 March 2025 landed in El Salvador.
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, who is paid by the US government to house the deportees and who is known for his medieval treatment of prisoners, issued at triumphant tweet - see below.
Bukele's tweet (Source: here)
At nine o’clock on morning of 16 March, 2025, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt triumphantly announced that the Trump Administration had "extracted and removed" nearly "300 Tren De Aragua terrorists" to El Salvador.
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A number of issues of profound concern arise from these developments and the events that followed. And, as I mentioned previously, the situation is ongoing, so what is covered here may not be the final word.
First, it seems clear that the Trump Administration did not follow due process in deporting what now appears to be 261 detainees to El Salvador. Of these 261 people, only 137 were apparently removed under the AEA over alleged gang ties, according to a senior administration official (see here).
It is not clear what reasons were given for the remaining deportations, but news reports have already emerged of family members of the deported claiming their kin were not gang members at all and that some were only deported because they had tattoos. Many Latin American gang members sport tattoos, but obviously it is possible to have tattoos without being a gang member (See here).
Trump's statement about Judge Boasberg (Source: here)
Of even greater concern, the White House now appears to dismiss Judge Boasberg, claiming his order was not lawful. Trump in a Truth Social post wrote,
“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”
Trump’s statement is a direct attack on and challenge to the US judiciary, forcing Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a statement earlier today saying, “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision” (see here).
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A Constitutional crisis now looms in the United States and the stakes could not be higher. Remember the Trump Administration already controls the presidency and both houses of Congress. Much of the media and big money are also in Trump’s pocket. The Democrats are split and weak. Elon Musk, a tech billionaire, is actively purging the US civil service of technocrats in order to replace them with sycophants ready to do Trump’s bidding.
The only thing standing between Trump and absolute power is therefore the American legal system.
Worryingly, Trump-friendly judges already have a majority on the US Supreme Court, but Trump must feel that he still cannot completely rely on them. Chief Justice Roberts’ intervention today is an illustration of this uncertainty.
I believe Trump is deliberately breaking the law in order to push cases all the way to the US Supreme Court. He wants Chief Justice Roberts and his fellow judges to choose between him and justice. He wants the judges to reveal if they are willing to defy Trump to preserve some semblance of judiciary independence or cave in to Trump and thereby get unspecified benefits that could include keeping their jobs.
I think there is a very high likelihood that Roberts and the other judges on the Supreme Court will kowtow. After all, they must be aware that then Trump could dilute their powers if they object by appointing a slew of new sycophantic judges that give him full loyalty.
At which point we can all wave ‘bye-bye’ to American democracy.
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I do not think anyone can rightfully claim to be surprised to find United States democracy under full-scale assault. The warning signs have been there for some time time. I, among others, have written extensively about the rapid slide towards authoritarianism in the US and about its implications. For some examples, see here:
I will end this note with yet another reminder. If – and remember it is still an ‘if’ – Roberts and the other judges on the US Supreme Court allow Trump to get away with his crimes then we are only looking at the start of a much larger calamity, a bit like when Hitler first became chancellor in 1933.
Trump is a fascist. He believes neither in the rule of law (as we can see), nor in democracy, nor in human rights. If allowed to do so, he will employ the full powers of the state to crush his enemies, starting with the weakest and then, as he accumulates victories, move on to stronger opponents. He will apply the same principles in his foreign policy.
If the US justice system fails the American people at this important juncture, the only way back to democracy will be by unseating Trump and his fascist collaborators, either through civil unrest or violence.
Either way, it will not be pretty.
The End
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