This whole scenario feels like it's straight outta the government's Alien Enemies Act/J.G.G. playbook. In J.G.G., Boasberg entered TRO barring removal of named plaintiffs and set weekend emergency hearing on certification of class. But DHS started removing people just before/during hearing...
ghoulish behavior
Removal is supported by the bove doctrine at main justice
The government is contemptuously laughing at the contempt proceedings in the JGG case.
They started moving people during the break in the hearing which was ordered because Ensign played dumb about the govts plan.
I wonder if they've given these kids food and water. How hot are the planes? These kids can't even sleep. This is child abuse.
Completely clueless here. Does the judge have the right to put on the brakes and demand to be taken to where the children are currently being taken to/from?
We're back and Sooknanan asks if any planes have taken off. Ensign says all of the planes are on the ground -- one of them might have taken off and turned around. He's not sure. His understanding is that if that's the case, plane has returned.
One lesson was learned I guess 🤨
CYA
Drew Ensign has lied to the court before about the whereabouts of planes.
Scary, tbh
Sooknanan explains the circumstances of how/when she got the case. First got a call around 2 am last night, entered TRO and set hearing. Moved up hearing after receiving call from plaintiffs to notify her that children were in process of being removed. Then entered new TRO for putative class.
Federal judges just love those 2 am phone calls . . .
My god … what if she hadn’t gotten the call (phone on silent)? The plaintiffs attorneys are heroes. What kind of monsters are these people? (The worst, I know).
When Sooknanan wraps up, counsel for plaintiffs tell her that their understanding is that the planes with the children have been grounded but that the children have not been deplaned. Sooknanan asks Ensign for an explanation, he says it might be that they're waiting for resolution of this hearing
"Hey Ensign, Maybe get them off the fucking planes then?"
"The planes that you were already ordered not to put them on, those planes, get them off now."
Damn
The resolution they should be waiting for is a head, heart & gut telling them what they're doing is beyond immoral and has entered the realm of what we call monstrosity.
That only works on people who have a functioning moral compass, empathy, and basic humanity. All of which are disqualifying traits under the current regime.
Sooknanan asks Ensign about legal authority for the removals. He discusses a statutory provision that authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to unite children with parents from whom they've been separated...
Ensign: "The Government of Guatemala has requested the return of these children, and all of these children have their parents or guardians in Guatemala who are requesting their return..."
Republicans see kids as roadkill on the highway to hell they are driving down.
I'm sure each child's situation is different, but I have been wondering for a while, in general, is it most common for unaccompanied immigrant minors to be living with relatives here in the US? If not, where are they usually placed?
Most of them would have been with a blood relation or a guardian. A double-handful might have been in foster care because their parents/family were previously deported or they were otherwise separated by the system.
Yes
Judge Sooknanan isn't buying it... The plaintiffs are telling me, she says, that the children do not want to go back to Guatemala, that no request has been made, and that they fear returning to Guatemala, and may be subject to harm
Sooknanan: So to be clear, you are representing that all of the children who were put on the planes are children whose parents have requested their return? Ensign: That's what I've been told...Through the government of Guatemala, it's been a month long process to ID children who meet criteria
"what I've been told" Lie and he knows it
I have no doubt that he was told that. Swear in the liars that gave him that lie to tell.
A month. One? Seems short, to put it mildly.
“That’s what I’ve been told” will be the DOJ’s “I vas just followink orders” when this is all over. Ensign knows it’s bullshit. The judge knows he knows it’s bullshit.
Well, if Ensign says that’s what he’s been told, then we’re all done here. Please commence with Labor Day festivities!
Sooknanan: And from the plaintiff's perspective, you do not think that that's true? Plaintiff's counsel: We know that is not true for all the children in the class...and even if it were, the provisions the government cites as legal basis does not override other protections in the statute
Next question for Ensign: Will you provide me a sworn declaration, under penalty of perjury, from an person with actual knowledge, that every child fits in the category you describe?
“Class” 👍
Sooknanan asks Ensign for his thoughts on that. He argues that the provision he cited is its own form of protection for the children -- it protects children by permitting the reunification with their parents/families.
Sooknanan: I have counsel telling me that there are children whose parents did not request their return to Guatemala. I have declaration representations contrary to what you're telling me. How does that [factual discrepancy] get resolved?
There was a time when Republicans were opposed to reuniting families internationally. bsky.app/profile/coul...
Reunification is a helluva euphemism
omgggggg these evil shits are seriously now using "FAMILY REUNIFICATION" as a rallying cry pretext to DEPORT KIDS. how do they sleep at night how do they even love their own families???
Additional would-be child traffickers associated with Trump? Release the Epstein files!
If the government is so concerned about the welfare of children and reunification with their parents perhaps they should stop physically ripping them apart.
Your Honor, I move that Ensign be excommunicated from the human race
Doesn't really make sense either. If you id'd one plane worth of children with their parents, why would you wait for more planes-worth before sending them back?
“Through the government of Guatemala, it's been a month long process to ID children who meet criteria” Yet the children and their legal guardians and legal representatives know NOTHING cause the DHS want it to be a surprise and adventure for them 🙄
Indirectly the govt of Guatemala told someone who told Ensign…
I'm sure it was the sister of a friend of my cousin's babysitter....
"You wouldn't know her. I met her in Niagara Falls. She's from Canada."
Well, shouldn’t they have some sort of government documentation from Guatemala requesting the return of these children if that’s the case
"that's what I've been told" does not cut it, Mr Ensign. What to YOU have in writing, on official letterhead? (that's me asking the question)
🐂💩
"that's what I've been told" is the new "I was just following orders"
This administration is covering for Donald Trump and Jeff Epstein trafficking children for sex. They’re coddling Putin, who’s kidnapped nearly a million Ukrainian kids during his illegal invasion and occupation. And we’re now watching them kidnap kids and deport them with zero proof as to where 🥵
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_a... #notinourname #GOPedos
How did they get separated to start with? Their track record with losing children isn’t good
“….what I’ve been told.” Not likely. A government (here, Guatemala’s) would not initiate an operation of this size based on verbal communications. There would be something written down — and communicating that to a US government attorney would be a simple matter.
Liar
And somehow, plaintiffs' attorneys are unaware of this month long process. This doesn't pass the smell test.
“That’s what I have been told” is not an answer.
Based on everything, safer to go with presumption of irregularity.
If it takes a month just to ID kids for return, something’s broken. Families deserve clarity, not red tape and vague answers. Children aren’t paperwork- they’re lives in limbo. #HumanRights #Immigration #Accountability
We can just assume that this regime will lie and cheat and act in bad faith every day of its existence! They want their meddling to extend into every facet of our lives and exert control over society like the most authoritarian regimes do! Cruelty is what they do The Trump regime cannot be trusted!
Without actual consequences for the lawyers making these BS claims in court this will not stop.
omg never thought I'd have to read court case stuff on a Sunday
Sounds more believable than all of their parents are there and the government wants them returned. That's my understanding sounds like plausible deniability. So who's lying?
👍🏼 Judge Sooknanan!
For how much and how did they determine it’s their parents or guardians?
Guatamalian-selected guardians?
Just stop teaching Evidence in law school because it has become irrelevant. (And because the hearsay rule is very confusing.)
Same for Con Law.😳
Same for Legal Ethics
Swear him in.
I do believe that
Ensign is lying to the Court.
Proof
When the DoJ lies like this, the court should prove that it is a lie, and consider EVERY statement made by them going forward as a lie afterwards
Ensign and every DOJ Rep is just undistilled evil.
"We're going to tell a blatant lie and we demand five days so you can get less angry at us for lying." Seems to me if they had legal cause for these flights, they wouldn't need five days to figure out what that is.
He should be forced to call and confirm right now!
“Might be”…!?!
Sooknanan needs ask why the children are being human-trafficked to foreign rent-a-death camps or if these children are fooder for Felon47's new Epstein-Maxwell style child rape ring.
They are holding scared kids on planes for hours.
Are they all in shackles, as well?
I assure you that they are. And the people doing this are wearing mask because that is more scary and they desire to terrorize children.
Toddlers are pretty dangerous.
I think the youngest here is 10, though
Perfect age to sell them into sex slavery.
Knowing these criminals, probably.
I think many do not realize they treat children this way.
Good god, so many Americans willfully complicit in treating CHILDREN like animals.
🤮
Is it just me or is the a wide gap between SS: "Is it your REPRESENTATION that …" and DE: "Your Honor, my UNDERSTANDING is that…" ?
Exactly! DOJ should be providing facts and evidence. They don’t get to hide behind plausible deniability
Cannot thank you enough for covering this on a weekend, Anna🙏
How heartless are these people? So intent on meeting deportation goals that judge must take 2am call on a Sunday & issue a TRO to stop them from deporting children to Guatemala. They’re weaker by acting so inhumanely. No mercy? No justice. Thanks to lawyers representing kids. Fighting good fight!
Ensign is unsure about one plane. That sounds like a familiar story, exactly what they did last time. What are the odds that plane is still on US soil?
About 0 in 1
Do we know how many kids were put through this?
They’re lying
when will Ensign realize DOJ / ICEis does not care about him, or the rules?
I don’t trust them.
I don’t think the judge does either.
Nor should anyone.
planes with little kids with no parents little kids no parents
I can't even.....😭 How scared must they be. The cruelty of this regime is beyond the pale. Not one heart in the entire administration.
I wouldn't belive him, personally.
GET THE CAMERAS THERE!! AT THE AIRPORT!!
Somewhere I saw that Gov asked for 5 days to reply. Given DOJ sued MD judges for insisting TWO days to file habeus (too slow!), I think judges should say “I would give you two, but now only one as you think reasonable. If not release them all” cc @muellershewrote.com @joycewhitevance.bsky.social
Here we go again.
Sure, we totally believe him.
Jesus
Maybe. Maybe not. bsky.app/profile/jjin...
Fool me once… shame on you…… fool me twice………. can’t get fooled again!
That’s somewhat reassuring.
Require that lying SOB Ensign to guaran-fucking-te that those children won’t end up in Trump & the GOP’s pedo den. Make him sign away his own life as collateral.
The pilots who are agreeing to transporting migrants without proper legal authorization should be charged with human trafficking.
Only this time this one may actually lead to contempt faster.
The Appellate Court should have never ruled the Federal Courts cannot enforce Contempt charges against DOJ, or the Whitehouse. By the way, I read an article yesterday where Judge Boasberg has filed an appeal on this before the full court. I hope the hell he wins!
They never said that. They only said he couldn’t given hold them in contempt over the order due to how the tros were vacated.
It was still a bs ruling by the appeals court. But yeah if he was holding them in contempt for the Supreme Court’s due process requirement then even Rao would draw the line.
It seems this administration goes to extreme lengths to do things that are just awful.
Steven Miller. You know it’s evil if he is involved.
Miller's just telling the DOJ to "screw their orders, screw their human rights", isn't he.
The actual phrase is that the courts can "fuck off."
I remember that too.
^this
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social Bill Cassidy is a physician who is being humiliated daily by Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy has exposed Cassidy’s craven prioritization of his own power over the health and safety of his constituents and of the United States of America.
This is bullshit. There are methods for doing this through state courts and the UCCJEA. I have handled cases involving minors from foreign countries in Florida state court. The DOJ appears to be lying here.
Honest question: Is it grounds for a child's asylum claims that their parent(s) are abusing them? (I'd think not.)
Trafficking yes
Always
Our warm thoughts go to Justice Rao, whose behavior on the special panel with first delaying and then blocking the contempt proceedings from that case have allowed the government to run the same shit all over again.
Thanks for reporting on this!
Yes, it's very much appreciated
Child trafficking by us gov
tbh I can't name one person in this administration who doesn't seem like they have dabbled in human trafficking. NOT ONE!
So they have deniability.
Thank you for covering the courts on the weekend so we all stay informed! I appreciate all your hard work!
Is it just me or are judges being extra careful to make sure Ensign and others communicate this stuff after the administration ignored court orders and sent people to El Salvador earlier this year?
Some (many?) judges aren't as willing to give the DoJ the benefit of the doubt at this point. (I think it's called a "presumption of regulatory" or something like that?) It only 8 months to end decades of reasonable assumption.
Did they stop once the ruling was communicated to them? If not, and there wasn’t some higher court order staying it — and that happens again — our problem becomes exponentially worse
This was a similar case months ago with Garcia and how even the Supreme Court told them they had to bring him back. But the deadline was initially too tight apparently.
No, the deadline was not the problem. You can rest assured that DOJ knew, and ignored it. They've already explained the Bove Doctrine, after all.
