District judge who ordered return of Tren de Aragua members faces calls for impeachment

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who on Saturday ordered the return of deportation planes carrying suspected members of Tren de Aragua, is facing several calls for impeachment after the Trump administration took aim at his decision to temporarily block deportations based on the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

After Boasberg, an appointee of President Barack Obama, announced that he will evaluate the legality of the action taken by the Trump administration, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) quickly announced his intention to file articles of impeachment to remove him.

"I’ll be filing Articles of Impeachment against activist judge James Boasberg this week," Gill said Saturday.

Today, Rep. Gill again took aim at the judge.

"We will not stand by as radical activist Judge James Boasberg tramples on the Constitution out of political spite for the President," Gill wrote. "The American people gave us a mandate to get criminal illegal aliens out of our country, and that’s exactly what we intend to do."

In a subsequent post, businessman Elon Musk, who serves as an advisor to Trump, reacted to Gill's proposal by saying, "Necessary."

"The very worst judges – those who repeatedly flout the law – should at least be put to an impeachment vote, whether that vote succeeds or not," Musk added in another release Monday.

In addition to Musk and Gill, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also questioned Judge Boasberg's order.

"Another day, another judge unilaterally deciding policy for the whole country. This time to benefit foreign gang members" Grassley said. "If the Supreme Court or Congress doesn’t fix, we’re headed towards a constitutional crisis. Senate Judiciary [Committee] taking action."

White House response to Boasberg

Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and architect of President Trump's immigration policy, took to the media to sharply question Boasberg's order and respond to criticism about the deportation flights.

According to Miller, Boasberg's order was illegal and President Trump exercised his full authority to use the Alien Enemies Act, as he was removing members of a gang designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

"The judge issued his unlawful order without receiving any information on this terrorist organization and the diplomacy that has been conducted," Miller told reporters. "Let alone the fact that he’s trying to issue the movement of aircraft that is operating outside of the United States."

"It is without doubt the most unlawful order a judge has issued in our lifetimes," the senior White House aide continued. "A district court judge has no authority to direct the national security operations of the executive branch. The president has operated the absolute apex of his constitutional authority."