Free Republic

Sparks flew during a closely-watched federal appeals court hearing Monday afternoon — with a Barack Obama-appointed judge tearing into the Trump administration’s plans to mass-deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Judge Patricia Millett, a member of the bench since 2013, dominated much of the questioning — grilling a Justice Department lawyer over due process concerns for the 260 purported illegal migrants shipped to a notorious El Salvador prison earlier this month under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. “There were planeloads of people. There were no procedures in place to notify people,” Millett exclaimed at one point....

WASHINGTON — President Obama will soon accelerate his efforts to put a lasting imprint on the country’s judiciary by simultaneously nominating three judges to an important federal court, a move that is certain to unleash fierce Republican opposition and could rekindle a broader partisan struggle over Senate rules. In trying to fill the three vacancies on the 11-member United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit at once, Mr. Obama will be adopting a more aggressive nomination strategy. He will effectively be daring Republicans to find specific ground to filibuster all the nominees. White House officials declined...