WEBVTT 00:01.200 --> 00:03.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour." 00:03.133 --> 00:06.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% In a D.C. courtroom today: A federal judge questioned the legality of the 00:06.000 --> 00:10.066 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Trump administration's authority to deport hundreds of migrants without 00:10.066 --> 00:13.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% due process and refusal to answer his questions. 00:13.300 --> 00:16.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% White House correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez has been covering 00:16.000 --> 00:19.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the near daily developments in this case. She joins me now. 00:19.066 --> 00:24.066 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% So, Laura, this hearing today was about whether the president's use of this wartime alien 00:24.066 --> 00:28.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% enemies power is legal. What did the judge in this case, Judge Boasberg, have to say? 00:28.500 --> 00:31.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Judge Boasberg seemed skeptical, Amna. 00:31.333 --> 00:36.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% So he appeared to be questioning the use of this wartime order, 00:36.233 --> 00:40.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% saying that he believed that it had big policy ramifications that 00:40.033 --> 00:45.000 align:left position:30% line:71% size:60% were -- quote -- "extraordinarily troublesome," potentially problematic and concerning. 00:47.066 --> 00:50.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% He also said that he believed that the use of this Alien Enemies Act was a long way 00:51.966 --> 00:55.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% from the heartland of the law's intention. And he appeared as though he was heading 00:57.866 --> 01:01.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% towards extending his temporary block on deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. 01:03.200 --> 01:06.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% That doesn't mean that the president can't deport migrants under other immigration laws. 01:08.766 --> 01:10.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: Now, the hearing was not about whether the Trump administration 01:10.600 --> 01:13.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% had violated his previous order to turn around deportation flights, 01:13.900 --> 01:17.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% but that issue did come up quite a bit. How did that play out? 01:17.000 --> 01:19.200 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: It did come up, especially right at the beginning. 01:19.200 --> 01:23.866 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Judge Boasberg said that he had a lot of questions for the government. He 01:23.866 --> 01:28.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% asked the Justice Department lawyer if he had told the Trump administration, 01:28.133 --> 01:33.133 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% if he had told the top of the DOJ, as well as the president and others, he said, did you make 01:35.400 --> 01:39.000 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% clear that my order said that planes needed to be turned around in whatever fashion was possible? 01:41.300 --> 01:45.633 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% And the Justice Department lawyer said that he understood that Judge Boasberg's order, verbal 01:48.100 --> 01:52.133 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% order, he understood it to be binding, but didn't seem to have any justification or explanation for 01:55.266 --> 02:00.266 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% why in public the administration has said that they don't consider the verbal -- that they don't 02:02.633 --> 02:06.400 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% consider the verbal order binding, because that's kind of contradicting with the public statements. 02:08.500 --> 02:11.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And he also, Judge Boasberg questioned, if they were so confident in their use of the 02:14.200 --> 02:16.533 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% Alien Enemies Act, why did it appear as though the president signed this executive order in the dead 02:16.533 --> 02:21.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% of night and then appeared to be rushing migrants on planes over to El Salvador? 02:23.666 --> 02:25.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: So the president's been using this act to deport largely Venezuelan nationals 02:25.933 --> 02:30.733 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% to this mega-prison in El Salvador, claiming they're members of this gang Tren de Aragua. 02:30.733 --> 02:34.266 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% You have been reporting that some of these Venezuelan nationals, though, do not seem to be 02:34.266 --> 02:38.966 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% members of this gang at all. Has the government provided evidence of that gang membership? 02:38.966 --> 02:42.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The short answer is no. We have asked DHS repeatedly, 02:42.033 --> 02:46.100 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% others have asked the White House repeatedly whether or not they will 02:46.100 --> 02:49.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% provide a list of the migrants, of all the migrants available. 02:49.133 --> 02:54.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% CBS did obtain a list, but the -- Homeland Security has not provided one to us at all, Amna, 02:56.233 --> 03:00.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% of who these migrants are. And in court today, the ACLU's lead attorney, Lee Gelernt, actually 03:02.500 --> 03:06.066 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% provided some new information, saying that pretty soon they may file some sworn declarations showing 03:08.200 --> 03:12.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that at least a number of the migrants that were sent to El Salvador had to be returned, 03:14.766 --> 03:18.133 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% because they were women or because they were not El Salvadoran or they were not Venezuelan. 03:18.133 --> 03:22.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And he expects to file some of those sworn declarations in the coming days. Now, 03:22.133 --> 03:26.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% President Trump was asked about the fact that multiple examples are emerging that some of 03:26.600 --> 03:31.600 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% these migrants appear to have no ties to Tren de Aragua whatsoever. And here's what he had to say. 03:33.266 --> 03:35.300 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: I was told that they went 03:35.300 --> 03:38.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% through a very strong vetting process, and that that will also be continuing in 03:40.566 --> 03:44.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% El Salvador. And if there's anything like that, we would certainly want to find out. 03:44.433 --> 03:48.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But these were a bad group. This was a bad group. 03:48.233 --> 03:51.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And multiple lawyers and family members have made clear that 03:51.033 --> 03:56.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% they have not been able to reach some of their loved ones who were deported, 03:56.066 --> 03:59.966 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% the ones that they believe are not tied to Tren de Aragua at all. 03:59.966 --> 04:04.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And on this matter of them being sent to this mega-prison, Amna, 04:07.000 --> 04:10.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the president floated today that he is thinking that potentially they may send some American 04:12.633 --> 04:17.600 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% citizens to this El Salvadoran mega-prison if they are found to be convicted of attacks on Tesla. 04:19.500 --> 04:21.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% AMNA NAWAZ: Now, this is all, of course, 04:21.366 --> 04:24.300 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% happening as President Trump and Elon Musk are targeting judges. They're 04:24.300 --> 04:29.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% labeling them as radical. Did Judge Boasberg specifically respond to any of that today? 04:31.566 --> 04:33.966 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Judge Boasberg did not respond to President Trump's attacks directly, 04:33.966 --> 04:38.433 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% but he did take issue with the way the Justice Department has talked about him in their filings, 04:40.233 --> 04:44.433 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% specifically saying that he found their language disrespectful, intemperate. 04:44.433 --> 04:49.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And President Trump has posted repeatedly over the last 24 hours attacking Boasberg and the 04:51.366 --> 04:54.333 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% judiciary, saying that Judge Boasberg is trying to usurp his power. So those 04:54.333 --> 04:59.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% attacks are still ongoing, Amna, from President Trump, as well as from allies like Elon Musk. 05:01.133 --> 05:03.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: A fast-moving story. We know you will stay on top of it. 05:03.400 --> 05:05.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Laura Barron-Lopez, thank you so much. 05:05.400 --> 05:06.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.