Federal appeals judges criticized the White House on Monday as it challenged a lower court’s order requiring the administration to attempt to return a Venezuelan asylum seeker it deported to a Salvadoran prison in March under the emergency Alien Enemies Act.
“As is becoming far too common, we are confronted again with the efforts of the Executive Branch to set aside the rule of law in pursuit of its goals,” Judge Roger Gregory of the Fourth Circuit, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in a concurring opinion on the side of the majority. “It is the duty of courts to stand as a bulwark against the political tides that seek to override constitutional protections and fundamental principles of law, even in the name of noble ends like public safety.”
