Judge orders top DOJ attorney to testify about Alien Enemies Act deportations [View all]

Source: ABC News

December 8, 2025, 6:22 PM


After the Trump administration provided limited information about the decision to deport more than a hundred men under the Alien Enemies Act in March, a federal judge on Monday ordered a top DOJ attorney involved in the deportations to testify later this month. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered Drew Ensign -- Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Immigration Litigation of the Civil Division -- to testify during a hearing on Dec. 16. He also ordered testimony on Dec. 15 from Erez Reuveni, a former DOJ attorney who alleged the Trump administration evaded court orders.

The Trump administration in March invoked the Alien Enemies Act -- an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- to deport two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States.

Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order and ordered that the planes be turned around, but Justice Department attorneys said his oral instructions directing the flight to be returned were defective, and the deportations proceeded as planned. Boasberg subsequently sought contempt proceedings against the government for deliberately defying his order.

"The Court thus believes that it is necessary to hear witness testimony to better understand the bases of the decision to transfer the deportees out of United States custody in the context of the hearing on March 15, 2025," Judge Boasberg wrote in his order Monday. "The events surrounding this decision should shed light on this question."

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-orders-top-doj-attorney-testify-alien-enemies/story?id=128222048