The Department of Justice, under the Trump administration, has officially invoked the State Secrets Privilege to withhold further information from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg regarding deportation flights involving Venezuelan nationals designated for removal under the Alien Enemies Act.
The DOJ informed Judge Boasberg on Monday evening that no additional data related to the flights would be provided, citing national security and diplomatic concerns. The notification came in response to Boasberg’s March 18, 2025, order demanding more information about the government’s operations involving the removal of Venezuelan criminal aliens.
Boasberg, an Obama-era judicial appointee, has been pressing DOJ officials for more transparency surrounding President Trump’s directive to deport foreign nationals labeled as national security threats. The individuals in question are alleged to be part of organized criminal operations linked to hostile foreign activity.
During earlier proceedings, Judge Boasberg expressed strong concerns over the use of the Alien Enemies Act, calling its application by the Trump administration “incredibly troublesome and problematic.” He warned of potential consequences should the administration defy further court orders.
The DOJ responded by citing the State Secrets Privilege — a legal doctrine that allows the executive branch to withhold information from disclosure if releasing it would pose a threat to national security. The DOJ submitted formal declarations from both the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to support the invocation of this privilege.
“The Executive Branch hereby notifies the Court that no further information will be provided in response to the Court’s March 18, 2025 Minute Order based on the state secrets privilege and the concurrently filed declarations of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security,” the DOJ wrote.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the administration’s position, affirming that President Trump is acting under the constitutional powers granted to the executive branch.
“This is a case about the President’s plenary authority, derived from Article II and the mandate of the electorate, and reinforced by longstanding statute, to remove from the homeland designated terrorists participating in a state-sponsored invasion of, and predatory incursion into, the United States,” the DOJ wrote.
“The Court has all of the facts it needs to address the compliance issues before it. Further intrusions on the Executive Branch would present dangerous and wholly unwarranted separation-of-powers harms with respect to diplomatic and national security concerns that the Court lacks competence to address,” the filing continued.
The DOJ stated clearly that the judiciary’s interest in flight-specific details such as passenger numbers, destinations, or stopovers is irrelevant to the legal matters before the court.
“No more information is needed to resolve any legal issue in this case. Whether the planes carried one TdA terrorist or a thousand or whether the planes made one stop or ten simply has no bearing on any relevant legal issue. The need for additional information here is not merely ‘dubious,’ or ‘trivial,’ it is non-existent,” the DOJ said.
“The Executive Branch violated no valid order through its actions, and the Court has all it needs to evaluate compliance. Accordingly, the Court’s factual inquiry should end.”
Earlier the same day, Judge Boasberg rejected a Trump administration motion to vacate the temporary restraining order (TRO) that had been imposed to halt certain deportations. However, the judge indicated a willingness to convert the TRO into a preliminary injunction, signaling that legal battles over the deportations may continue.
Judge Boasberg also stated that the criminal aliens subject to deportation deserve individual hearings, despite their designation under national security classifications.
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