Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett accused a federal judge of “usurping” President Donald Trump’s authority during a Monday appearance on “Fox and Friends.”
United States District Judge Paula Xinis, an Obama- appointee, ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia, an adjudicated member of the El Salvadoran prison gang MS-13, to the United States Friday. Jarrett lit into the judge, saying she has “no authority” to order El Salvador to do anything.
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“A U.S. federal judge has no authority to tell El Salvador what to do, nor does this judge have jurisdiction over a person held outside the U.S.,” Jarrett told “Fox and Friends” guest host Charlie Hurt. “Notwithstanding, Paula Xinis is her name, an Obama appointee, is anointing herself as the super-president of the United States and ordering Trump to negotiate his return, Garcia’s return, which is an intrusion on a president’s power under Article II of the Constitution to conduct foreign affairs, enforce all laws including immigration laws.”
Upon taking office on Jan. 20, Trump issued several executive orders to address illegal immigration, including designating Mexican drug cartels, the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations.
“I think this is yet another example of unelected judge usurping the authority of the chief executive and, you know, shredding the separation of powers and this question, Charlie, whether Garcia is member of MS-13, which is a designated terror group, that was already resolved six years ago!” Jarrett told Hurt. “An immigration judge held a hearing examining the incriminating evidence and said, yeah, he is, but because he is a dangerous gang member, he gets to stay free in the U.S. or he’d be killed by a rival gang if returned to El Salvador.”
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Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up the deportation of gang members March 15.
“I mean, you cannot make this up,” Jarrett said. “We are apparently now in the business of protecting members of murderous gangs from other murderous gangs.”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
