Judge Sooknanan: For unaccompanied minors in particular, there are special procedural protections under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act...that's because this population is incredibly vulnerable. I don't see anything in what you're citing that would override those protections.
Judge Sooknanan says that she will wait to see Ensign's brief but at this point she's not seeing anything that would displace the statutory protections she just mentioned. Further, she says, I know it's extraordinary to enter a TRO on an ex parte basis. But I felt the situation was imminent...
Good for her.
Imminence pervades lawless power
I'll say again, if this operation were legit the government would announce it in advance. Press would be encouraged to film happy children boarding planes to see their parents. It would not be done by weekend secret sneak flights. We see no pics because the kids are shackled.
And how did the children get separated from their parents to start with ? When it comes to this administration and unification of children I don’t believe a single word. They can’t be trusted. They couldn’t reunite the ones they separated during the sessions era
Tots norm for the G to schedule child deportation flights at crack o dawn Labor Day Sunday, no OT costs, etc etc
Judge Sooknanan: As I said at the start of this hearing, I got a call at 2:36 am [last night] because the government chose the wee hours of the morning on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend to execute a plan to move these children. That's why we're here.
Repubcans are brave when attacking, abusing and murdering children.
It was no “accident” that it was the wee hours; they likely thought no way would you pick up.
People who do things in the wee hours of the morning may be trying to hide something. IMHO.
Russian-style evil
You expect the Administration (actually the last several) to care about deporting kids? They won't lift a finger to protect kids from mass shooting, you think deporting is a high bar.
Trying to remove children in the middle of the night...If they thought it was a legal act, they'd do it in broad daylight. But they're clearly trying to get away with something. Kind of like ICE wearing masks and not showing ID. My question is, Why aren't they charged?
They're so warped that if they aren't doing the slimiest, most dishonest thing possible, they feel like they are failing their cult leader
Sad
Judge blocks deportation of unaccompanied migrant minors to Guatamala. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Judge Sooknanan: And I tried to reach the government. I have been up since then..and didn't reach anyone from the government until later this morning. And the imminence that the plaintiff claimed proved true, because, in fact, those planes *were* loaded. One actually took off and was returned.
Don’t answer that Pam, it’s article III calling
EVIL
The government is straight up lying to the judge… again. This is a continual theme under Führer Trump.
Judge Sooknanan continues her monologue: And so, absent action and intervention by the court, all of those children would have been returned to Guatemala, potentially to extremely dangerous situations.
Over the years I’ve had plenty of run ins with DOJ lawyers in district and appeals courts. Lost many more arguments than I won because more often than not the DOJ lawyer was a step ahead than me. At least they didn’t dissemble like this.
Ensign has done nothing but dissemble all year .. he's not being told much, and he's certainly not asking questions ..
Judge Sooknanan to Ensign: And even now that the government has appeared, you're telling me that even though you think you have the authority to do this, and that what you're trying to do here is unify families, not violate the law, you need five days to respond.
Judge Sooknanan: And again, I'm not going to force you to respond sooner, but if you need five days, my order is going to stay in place. I have done all I can to try to make a decision based on what's in front of me. The government hasn't put anything in front of me to counter plaintiff's narrative
Thank you Anna!
This story should be all over the news All these children suffering this way
Judge Sooknanan: I am trying to do the best I can to fulfill my obligation as an Article III judge. I appreciate you all showing up today, and I particularly appreciate the government's representation. But I'm going to put it on the record again, just so there's absolutely no ambiguity...
Judge Sooknanan: "These children are going to be deplaned. They're going to be returned to ORR custody. And no attempts will be made to remove them from ORR custody and remove them to Guatemala, in light of my order, while these preliminary emergency proceedings are pending."
South Sudan then?
…or Venezuela, or Uganda, or, etc…
Judge Sooknanan: I will look for the government's status report letting me know that the children have been deplaned and returned to ORR custody. Ensign, for his part, says the government "obviously" believes these actions are lawful and that he looks forward to setting out why in the brief.
Ensign needs to stop using words like “obviously” in a courtroom
If the government’s actions are so damned lawful, why did they try to move these children just before 3:00 AM in the middle of a holiday weekend?
Unbelievable heartbreaking our country has come to this these people need a mental health check as well as moral compass as clearly they have lost both
Thank you for your reporting and thank the gods for Judge Sooknanan and those plaintiff attorneys! Hugs to those children 💙💙💙💙💙
And we're done. Thanks to all who followed along on this Labor Day weekend. If you appreciate @lawfaremedia.org's live coverage of court proceedings, I hope you'll consider supporting our non-profit newsroom. See you next time! givebutter.com/journalism/a...
Ignorance of the law should not be a defense for the government. So what if they think it’s lawful, it isn’t. They attempted to break the law and there should be consequences.
If DOJ thought it was legal, they would not have done it in the night
if you are "looking forward to setting out why ... " why did you have nothing but false information for the judge today?
Is there any connection here? If so, the government lied again bsky.app/profile/jjin...
what he means is that the administration believes laws do not apply to them
Ensign is, of course, lying. The government knows full well their actions are not lawful. What they *believe* is they are not obliged to follow the law, and will suffer no penalty for not doing so.
I believe they've, a bunch of them, already landed in Guatemala.
thank you for doing this
They "obviously" believe Article 3 will not eventually stop them. They believe that's the same as being lawful. Unfortunately, there is no one to disagree other than Article 1.
JFC. Trying to get them out under the cover of darkness to God knows where never to be seen again.
Then why did they do it under cover of night at 2:30am?
I'm thinking Drew "Equivocate" Ensign believes he is going to skate just outside of the contempt zone - but anyone that smug is already showing poor judgement of reality.
I want Ensign to wind up in contempt during this administration... you can't tell me this guy won't cross the line at some point.
Thank you. Glad to know there are Judge Sooknanans still fighting for due process and the rule of law for vulnerable children.
Thank you Anna! So critical to have this, in detail, on the public record while it is happening.
They just got caught human trafficking, again, right?
Correct
or any other third country
Pity she didn't add "or remove them to any other nation" because I can see a loophole.....
Her order is for them to remain in ORR custody
My first thought as well.
Sad that you’re appropriately suspicious.
That was my first thought. It’s exactly how the Neanderthals occupying the government and their supporters think. Immature children looking for loopholes to do whatever they want.
I was thinking the same!
Right? I immediately had the same thought.
God bless the district court judges who are still fighting.
Hoping that putting into the order ‘no removal to Guatemala’ doesn’t mean that the government will decide to send these children to another country and say “well it’s not Guatemala judge”
This particular statement worries me. Like I don’t trust these fascists not to remove them to another country and say “well you said we couldn’t remove them to Guatemala.”
I saw the Noem this morning on CBS stating she was going forward with removing "the worst of the worst" from the US. I guess she considers children to be "murders, rapists and drug dealers". Again they expected to do this under the cover of night. Thankfully they were found out.
Doing the Lord's work catching and live posting these hearings, Anna
How many times can a lawyer lie and disobey a judge and not be disbarred or jailed? "Just asking for the whole nation"
Most heartbroken for these kids. But pour one out for the judge trying to avoid Gorsuch complaining about her being lawless and overreaching.
Our government’s actions will lead to human trafficking.
Our government under the trump regime has been enthusiastically trafficking children, mothers, families, husbands, etc. No future tense here - we’re solidly in the throes of a president fully engaged in human trafficking.
Government sponsored human trafficking is no less legal, and these DOJ criminals who are enabling this should be held accountable.
It probably already has.
I'm confused on the choice of wording here being "will lead to" human trafficking. How would it be different later if it doesn't fit de facto human trafficking by the government now?
These children will be scarred for life. I’m furious.
Thanks for the live 🧵 👍🏻 What a bunch of fascistic ghouls🤬
Not looking forward to the Government going “wellllll what about somewhere that’s NOT Guatemala.”
Really seems like the US government's reputation is starting to precede them in the courts? IANAL but surely not a good thing for ANY of their business before the courts, the fact they simply can't be trusted.
Crap. The government will just send them somewhere OTHER than Guatemala
How did these children get into ORR custody in the first place?
It sounds as if they were unaccompanied minors either brought into US actually being trafficked or left behind by parents not wanting them to be sent back to problem or a relative not their parents w/o proof of custody
#fyi There is no Article, Section or Clause of the US Constitution, which empowers a POTUS to interfere w/any election. All U.S. elections are run by, regulated by & paid for, by the States. Nothing outside of a natural disaster has ever stopped an election & then only locally.
🫡
Why on earth did she say "I particularly appreciate the government's representation"? Was she being sarcastic?
Drew Ensign is a POS
Shade all day!
What they are attempting to do to these children is pure evil.
I wish 80% of current events didn't make me drop F bombs about Trump and his pedo-supporting clown car
My swear jar is going to retire long before I can afford it.
Thank you Anna, for this amazing reporting!
You're doing God's work. Thank you
Perhaps she should require the government to provide proof of their statement that Guatemala and the parents/guardians for each of the children has requested their return? If no proof can be provided, that would indicate that the DOJ attorney lied to the court, right?
I wish she had said "or any other country" since I don't trust the government for a second.
I thought the same thing. These bad actors are as slippery as eels.
Thanks Anna and Lawfare. Really appreciate this work. Any sign that Ensign is wilting under the heat of his employer’s disgraceful efforts to kidnap and remove people of color?
When if ever does the court get to say, “We’ve seen this purported ignorance-based delay tactic from this government before, so you need to represent your position NOW, not five days from now? All the supposed lack of insight from govt counsel is b.s.
Oof
Calling out the lies for what they are. Unifying families couldn't be the furthest thing from the truth. If they had the authority they wouldn't be trying to explain what they're doing in front of a judge.
Corruption and cruelty, deception Are their only policies
How can she be certain the planes haven’t taken off? Is she relying on the word of govt lawyer Ensign?
Well, in this matter, she sent him to personally check, and he’s saying he has personally checked and they haven’t. If he’s lying on this point, it’s sanctions time.
If DHS simply lied to HIM, the sanctions would be against DHS, not him. 'Course Roberts & Friends could grant DHS's emergency application to vacate it. And I'm not sure by now that that would shock me; I'm really not.
Yes, but if they directly and clearly lied to him upon direct questioning, every judge would be justified in not trusting any assertion ever made by counsel for DHS ever; I don’t think even DHS would be stupid enough to do it with that clear a trail.
Well, I think that's what did happen in the JGG case, if I recall correctly. I do think DOJ would do it until the Supreme Court denies a DOJ emergency application to vacate it. Truth be told, I think that even if the Supreme Court denies the application in one case, they may grant in the next one.
Extremely bad that the government itself is acting like a clandestine criminal people-smuggler, especially because there were children.
I'm sure the Q-Anon folk will be outraged... Yeah, they don't care, do they?
If I were that judge or any judge having to deal with Ensign, I would hold him in contempt and jail him if the government doesn't comply with the judge's order. Ensign is a menace.
@jjindc.bsky.social
This is HORRENDOUS!
Umm no 3 took off and doesn’t look like any have been returned.
What’s your proof?
You don't know who is on those planes. Plenty of deportations happening that aren't this case, unfortunately.
Those pilots need to never fly again
Seriously, I don’t expect one could keep a taxi medallion or an Uber account after having been the driver for a kidnapping operation How on earth can a person keep their pilot’s license
You can’t go anonymous to ATC either, has there been any effort to name & shame these child traffickers?
And Ensign should be explicitly barred from selling or otherwise profiting from his memoirs
Sneaky MFERs 😡
And this is one case where someone was able to get the matter before a judge in the middle of the night. How many were not?
As someone who sponsored a child in Guatemala for years (through Compassion) I am horrified that anyone could even consider sending unaccompanied minors there without a solid plan for their care.
Leave these poor children ALONE!! JFC!!!
The hallmark of a bully is picking on people who can't defend themselves.
It’s really too bad that these Trump administration lawyers and officials don’t get slapped with contempt. They’ve tried to sneakily evade court orders before and then lie about it. If and when the rule of law applies once again, these people need to be prosecuted.
this administration is truly truly horrible...horrific things happening.
DHS / DOJ --- classy, dudes, learning from Hitler memos?
😡😳😱🆘
📌
Thank goodness for the judge
Thank you so much for being fully invested in these kids. And the Constitution and rule of law. And human rights. You aren’t just fighting the good fight, you’re fighting the best possible fight.
These people, under Trump, are the literal devil.
I honestly have no idea how you get a hold of a federal judge at 2 in the morning, but awfully glad these guys did. Ensign is a ghoul.
The courts need to order all actions of removal may not begin before 8 am or after 5 pm. This middle of the night, under cover of darkness while the rest of America is asleep. Had has got to stop. This is the Gestapo disappearing people.
They truly are ghouls, straight from the crypt.
Thank you, Anna!
So the US government is in the child trafficking business now. Given the current president, it doesn’t come as a surprise
Gosh, it sounds like the Judge doesn’t trust the government one bit. Welcome to the club!
They have proven themselves untrustworthy. Plus they apparently don't give their own lawyers information that can be relied on. If I were a DOJ lawyer I'd be pissed.
It’s on purpose. The lawyers don’t ask for the information so they don’t have to lie to the judge.
Yes
Trafficking children. You don't say.
epstein is waiting in Guatemala for them.
They are such mother fuckers They need to be punished
Nuremberg 2.0 is gonna be lit
And they have the audacity to call themselves "Christians."
I wonder if they have successfully executed this stunt before. I am too ashamed to call myself American.
Stephen Miller will have a lot to answer for in this world or the next.
Here would be preferable.
I hope he spends the rest of his miserable life nervously looking over his shoulder
I sincerely hope that there is an afterlife of his beliefs for him. Because from everything I have been taught about religion, he isn't going to like where he's going.
Needs to start here & now.
They were trying to do it in the dark of night so they wouldn’t be discovered.
Nothing says "we're sure we're on solid legal ground" like sneaking around to present the courts with a fair accompli.
They don't give a shit about solid legal ground. They only speak one language: the language of power.
Of course they do: that's why they're trying so hard to avoid it. Don't give them more power than they have, it's bad enough without that, it's bad enough they're trying to circumvent the law and due process. But right now they still don't have the guts for a showdown and that's an asset for us.
But you and I don't give them any power.
& language of criminality & trauma.
Trump supports subterfuge
Fucking criminals.
So wonderful she's such a dedicated judge. 💖
WTF is wrong with these people ??
Damn!!!
Of course they did. They have one seating only and it’s always on “sadistic”.
*setting not seating!
And not for the first time she was very very much NOT WRONG
Wow. Ex Parte with this judge.... www.dcd.uscourts.gov/content/dist...
Sooknanan "clerked for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor."
Call these MFERs OUT💥💥💥
They need fodder for their kiddie porn