Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Trump Hit with Ruling he Feared Most on Aliens Enemies Act

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

Breaking, in a major set back to Trump’s depravedrmigrant removal plans, Chief Judge Boesberg won’t let Trump Administration tell him “to pound sand,” and finding that the Administration is only interested in continuing to violate the due process rights of 137 migrants “disappeared” to El Salvador and then Venezuela to avoid Federal Court oversight, has ordered that they be returned to the US on the “government dime” or otherwise allowed to file their petitions to obtain asylum. Upwork: Visit https://Upwork.com right now and post your job right now! Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact ConX Ontario at 1866-531-260 to speak to an advisor, free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. We got some breaking news. The firefight between the chief judge of the district courts of D.C., Jebosburg and the Department of Justice continues. In a new order, just released, the judge said, and I'm barely paraphrasing, you told me to go pound sand about giving 137 people you may disappear without due process rights and you're not going to give me a solution to provide them with due process rights. I choose a different path other than

pound sand. In particular, Judge Bozberg on page four of his order says the following. Against this backdrop and mindful of the flagrancy of the government's violations of the deportees due process rights that landed the plaintiffs in this situation, the court refuses to let them languish in the solutionless mire that the defendants proposed, which is we can't bring it back from Venezuela. We don't want to bring it back from anywhere else, and we don't want to do remote hearings of any type judge go pound sand. No. No, federal judge order beats pound sand, rock, paper, scissors. I'm Michael Popak, you're on the Midas Touch Network and Legal A.F.

We've been following this case very closely. It's called JGG. It's been brought by the American Civil Liberties Union in favor of 137 men, migrants who the government claims without proof are members of Trennaugua, a narco-terrorist group, and sent in the middle of the night over the objection and orders of Jebosberg back in March

to the torture prisons of El Salvador. Later, to get them away from Jeb Bosberg's jurisdiction, the Department of Justice went one better and sent them to Venezuela before the war with Venezuela. And now, Jeb Bosberg, having given the government the opportunity to propose a solution for the lack of due process that was provided to these people, who would rather, based on a recent filing,

who would rather be in custody in the immigration world of the United States than to be free in Venezuela or third countries. That's how much they are devoted to their cause. Jeb Bosberg has joined that call and has now ordered the government to get these people back to the United States, even if it means they're in custody, and give them the habeas corpus and due process rights that the United States Supreme Court ordered that they have. I'm Michael Popak. Let's get to it.

I'll post this memorandum and opinion up on Legal AF Substack for paid members. Here's what the judge says in this case, page one. The court offered the government the opportunity to propose steps that would facilitate hearings for the class members on their habeas corpus claims so that they could challenge their designations under the Alien Enemies Act. Apparently, not interested in participating in this process, the government's response is essentially told the court to pound sand. The judge continues, believing that other courses

would be more productive than pounding sand, and in line with the Supreme Court's requirement outlined in the Abrago-Garcia case, the court will now order the government to facilitate the return from third countries of those plaintiffs who so desire. It will also permit other plaintiffs to file their habeas supplements from abroad.

How do we get here? The United States Supreme Court in another case involving a Maryland person named Kilmer Abrago-Garcia, 9-0 supported the federal district judge there, Judge Zinnis, and said that she was right to order that Obrigo Garcia, who was illegally sent in the same El Salvador in prison, along with these 137 other men, that he was legally sent there,

that the court had the right and had the obligation to order that the United States facilitate his return back to the United States for a due process hearing. Scaling a business, that takes the right expertise, at the right time. Upwork helps growing teams quickly bring in specialized freelancers so you can move faster and take the business to the next level. Upwork is a one-stop platform to find, hire, and pay expert freelancers across web and software development, data and analytics, marketing, business operations, and more. Upwork helps grow your business by giving you fast access to

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No endless searching required. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That's upwork.com to connect with top talent, ready to help your business grow. That's UPWORK.com. Upwork.com. Now, we all know what happened. Two months later, the Trump administration manufactured fake criminal charges against Abrago-Garcy in Tennessee and brought him back and then threw him in jail. However, that case is about to get dismissed for vindictive prosecution by way of a judge in Tennessee. But the precedent set by the Abrago-Garcia case is ringing in the ears of Chief Judge Bozberg.

And he said to them, I've got to follow the Abrago-Garcia precedent. tell me how I can't follow that. And of course, the government just said, you're wrong, we're not going to do anything. Venezuela's in flux. It's a foreign affairs issue. We can't do anything about it. We have no solution.

The judge is not taking that. Here's what the judge says about this issue. First, he complements the American Civil Liberties Union. People should know the American Civil Liberties Union does regular contributions on the legal AF YouTube channel with us. Here's what he said. Understanding that the situation in Venice, remains in flux on page two, and given the quote-unquote law enforcement action, in quotes,

plaintiffs, the ACLU and the 137 men, have commendably sought measured steps from the court. In other words, plaintiffs are being reasonable. You are not being reasonable. As explained at the hearing, they're only asking to be permitted to file supplemental habeas pleadings for the 137 deported that those individuals in third countries, not Venezuela or the United States can proceed with remote hearings and that the government provide as its expense returns to the U.S. from third countries for those so desiring. So not even from Venezuela. And they know that if they go back to the U.S., they're going to be put in detention. The judge calls it a prudent approach, which has not been replicated by their government

counterparts. He says, although the Supreme Court in Abrago-Garcia appell Judge Zinnis' order directing the government to facilitate and effectuate the return, defendants at every turn have objected to these legitimate proposals without offering a single option for remedying the injury. After extended questioning at the hearing, the government finally represented that it prefers the return of the deportees not on its time to remote hearings, given its concerns with logistics and other evidentiary issues at such hearings. Here's an example where the parties brief the issue, but at the hearing, they sort of got into it and developed a working outline that the judge is now adopting. But listen to what the judge says about the government, as I started the hot take with. Against this backdrop, and mindful of the flagrancy of the government's violations of the deportees due process rights that got them into this pickle to begin with, the court refuses to let them languish in a solutionless mire that the defendants propose.

He also says on page five, it is worth emphasizing that this situation would never have a arisen, had the government simply afforded the plaintiffs their constitutional rights before initially deporting them. And then he ordered the following. Plaintiffs shall give a notice as to what their countries their clients are in. The plaintiffs shall give a notice noting the number of plaintiffs who want to come to the United States. The government shall promptly return to plaintiffs upon written requests, their passports and travel documents, and the government shall file a status report by March 13th explaining how and when it will transport any plaintiff. Now, we know what's going to happen next.

The government's going to file an appeal. It's going to go up to a D.C. appellate court. We'll find out what happens next. But Bozberg is right. The Trump administration has gone after him time and time again, including trying to get ethics charges brought against them, which were ultimately dismissed. But he is fighting for democracy.

He is fighting for the rule of law. Until my next report on Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of legal AF. neither. That's why we formed the legal A.F. Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it, morning A.F. What else? All the other contributors from legal A.F are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Where legal A.F.

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