Chief Justice Roberts Rebukes Trump's Call for Impeachment of Judge

What Happened?

Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court issued a rare statement Tuesday after President Donald Trump's recent impeachment call of a judge over migrant deportations.

President Trump and his allies have called for various judges to be impeached for blocking administration policies in the first months of his second term.

Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) filed impeachment articles against U.S. District Judge James E Boasberg, who ordered the return of flights that had departed with Venezuelan immigrants using the Alien Enemies Act.

'For the past several weeks, we've seen several rogue activist judges try to impede the president from exercising, not only the mandate voters gave him, but his democratic and constitutional authority to keep the American people safe,' Rep. Gill told Fox News. 'This is another example of a rogue judge overstepping his… authority.'

Trump backed those claims Tuesday on Truth Social stating that Judge Boasberg, not announced by name, 'should be impeached.'

In a statement, Judge Roberts said, 'For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.'

Why it Matters

In 2018, Roberts similarly criticized Trump for singling out an 'Obama judge' who ruled against his administration during his first term.

The White House had denied allegations on Monday that it engaged in 'a blatant violation' of Judge Boasberg's order.

This was after a lawsuit was filed surrounding the 18th-century wartime act by a group of Venezuelan men in immigration custody.

U.S. border czar Tom Homan recently told Fox News that he doesn't care what the judge thinks following recent pushback.

The Trump administration implied in court filings that the government had other legal grounds for the deportations, according to The New York Times.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated during a White House briefing that there were questions about whether a verbal order carries the same weight as a written order.

Roughly $6 million, 'pennies on the dollar,' were paid to the government of El Salvador compared to maximum-security prisons in the U.S., Leavitt explained.

Trump has pointed to a rise in deadly narcotics and other criminal organizations that have flowed across the U.S. border illegally as motivation behind these actions.

How it Affects You

The detention and deportation of suspected members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were key targets of Trump.

Legal experts argue that invoking such actions as the Alien Enemies Act could face an uphill legal battle amid targeting undocumented immigrants.

Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents under Trump's guidance aim to ramp up efforts despite the challenges that may soon follow.