Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration can't comply with a judge's order to give deported migrants a chance to challenge their removal.
The official said such a scenario would not be possible after the capture of Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, noting that it would "risk material damage to U.S. foreign policy interests" in the South American country.
"The United States remains involved to see changes in Venezuela that are beneficial to the United States and that it also expects will be beneficial for the people of Venezuela, who have suffered tremendously," Rubio said in a passage of the declaration.
"These efforts entail ongoing, intensive, and extraordinarily delicate engagement with elements within the regime of Maduro's successor, so-called Acting President Delcy Rodríguez," he added.
Judge James Boasberg had ordered the administration to bring back 137 of more than 240 deportees from the country to face court hearings, or arrange remote ones from Venezuela. The judge said the migrants were "denied their due-process rights" and didn't get a chance to challenge their deportations in federal court.
However, Rubio said that "given the passage of time," the government doesn't know "the whereabouts of class members, including whether anyone has departed Venezuela or whether the regime subsequently took anyone back into custody." Anticipating the chance that Boasberg will rule against the administration, officials requested that the judge stay any ruling pending the resolution of an appeal.
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