Federal courts deal Trump sweeping legal setbacks over immigration and agency dismantling

Key Information:

• Four legal defeats in one day: Judges ruled against the Trump administration on immigration, labour, and education issues.
• Deportations under wartime law deemed unconstitutional: A judge said nearly 140 men deported under the Alien Enemies Act were denied due process.
• Appeals court blocks dismantling of Education Department: Layoffs of 1,300 employees ruled unlawful without congressional approval.
• Family deportation in Colorado hate crime case paused: A federal judge halted the removal of the wife and children of a bombing suspect.

The most significant ruling came from Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, who declared that the Trump administration had illegally deported nearly 140 Venezuelan men in March under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act—a wartime statute dating back to 1798. Trump had invoked the law to remove individuals, whom he claimed were tied to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, summarily.

But Boasberg ruled that the men, now detained in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT maximum-security prison, were denied any opportunity to challenge their deportations—a violation of constitutional due process.

"Significant evidence has come to light indicating that many of those currently entombed in CECOT have no connection to the gang and thus languish in a foreign prison on flimsy, even frivolous, accusations," Boasberg wrote in his 69-page decision.

While stopping short of ordering the administration to bring the men back to the U.S., the judge gave officials one week to propose how the deportees can seek legal relief in American courts.

The decision builds on a prior Supreme Court ruling that requires deportees under the Alien Enemies Act to be given sufficient time and notice to challenge their removal. Legal experts, including the ACLU, described the Boasberg decision as a "critical blow" to what they view as a dangerous expansion of wartime authority in peacetime.

In a separate case in Colorado, a federal judge blocked the deportation of the wife and five children of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the man charged in a Molotov cocktail attack on pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder. Although Soliman faces federal hate crime and state attempted murder charges, his family members have not been charged with any crime.

U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher ruled that deporting the family without due process could result in "irreparable harm," and issued an emergency order to protect their constitutional rights.

The Department of Homeland Security had sought to deport the Egyptian family, prompting outrage from civil rights attorneys who called the move collective punishment. "The punishment of a four-year-old child for something their parent allegedly did, who also has a presumption of innocence, is something that should outrage Americans regardless of their citizenship status," attorney Eric Lee said.

Soliman remains in custody on a $10 million bond. Prosecutors allege he planned the attack for over a year, and authorities say he confessed after throwing two Molotov cocktails into a crowd. The case has drawn national attention as tensions rise over Middle East-related violence.

Trump’s sweeping attempt to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education also suffered a major blow. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that barred the administration from firing over 1,300 employees in a bid to dismantle the agency.

The court found that the move effectively bypassed Congress, which created the department in 1979. Judges said such structural changes cannot be imposed through executive order alone.

The ruling marks a rare judicial rebuke of an attempt to shutter a cabinet-level department, underscoring the limits of presidential authority over federal institutions. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

Another federal judge, Andrew Carter in New York, issued a temporary restraining order halting the administration’s plan to dismantle Job Corps, the largest job training program for low-income youth in the U.S. The Department of Labor had sought to terminate contracts and shut down operations, citing inefficiencies and safety concerns.

But Carter ruled that the move likely exceeded the agency’s legal authority and needed further review. A hearing is set for June 17. Supporters of the program say eliminating Job Corps would devastate vulnerable communities, while critics argue reform—not removal—is what’s needed.

Wednesday’s cascade of rulings reflects a broader trend: the courts acting as a constitutional check on Trump’s aggressive second-term policy agenda. Legal experts note that even Republican-appointed judges have blocked multiple high-profile initiatives, from immigration crackdowns to federal downsizing efforts.

According to legal analysts, Trump’s strategy of rapid implementation via executive orders has repeatedly collided with the structural safeguards of democratic governance.

The president, undeterred, has publicly lashed out at judges involved in the rulings. In March, Trump denounced Judge Boasberg on social media as a "Radical Left Lunatic" and called for his impeachment—despite Boasberg’s reputation as a centrist jurist.

The administration has one week to comply with Judge Boasberg’s directive on the Venezuelan deportees. The Education Department case is likely to move to the Supreme Court. The Job Corps matter returns to court on June 17, and the Boulder deportation case remains frozen pending further legal review.

With multiple initiatives under judicial review, Trump now faces mounting pressure to adjust his executive strategies—or risk watching his agenda unravel in court.

Sources: CBS News, The New York Times, Newsweek, Politico