Trump calls judge who halted deportations 'lunatic, crooked', demands his impeachment

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (March 18) blasted the judge overseeing his administration’s deportation of suspected Venezuelan gang members, calling for his impeachment in a first such public attack on judiciary.

Without naming the judge, Trump on his Truth Social platform called for impeaching ‘radical left lunatic’ James Boasberg, the Washington DC-based justice who was appointed by Barack Obama.

This is what Trump wrote in his post:

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President - He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY.”

Trump further stated that he is doing what his voters wanted him to do and any judge forcing him to appear before the courts must be impeached.

“I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

First such attack on judiciary

Trump’s allies like billionaire Elon Musk have previously proposed impeaching judges who attempt to block the administration’s anti-immigration efforts.

But it’s the first time that Trump has publicly derided a judge, who attempted to prevent the government from deporting the alleged gang members under the Alien Enemies Act.

Alien Enemies Act

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is one of the oldest US laws concerning national security and immigration. It was originally enacted alongside other Alien and Sedition Acts during heightened tensions between the US and France.

The law grants the president the authority to detain or deport nationals of foreign nations deemed hostile, without the need for court proceedings.

Historically, the law has been used only during periods of declared war. It was invoked during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II to detain or deport noncitizens from enemy countries, including Germans, Austro-Hungarians, Italians and Japanese.

The Trump administration had invoked the law labelling Tren de Aragua, a notorious Venezuelan criminal organisation, as “invading force” and accusing it of carrying out “irregular warfare” against the US at the behest of the Venezuelan government.

“By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to US soil,” Trump said.