Shaffer to Newsmax: Judges 'Have No Jurisdiction' Over National Security

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer told Newsmax on Thursday that the maximum-security prison in El Salvador where migrants have been sent is "a good deterrent, but it's not going to be effective unless we actually continue" to deport people in the United States illegally.

"I would invoke, as President [Donald] Trump is doing right now, both the Enemies Act, as well as the Secrets Act to make sure that the courts can't see what's going on," Shaffer said on "The Chris Salcedo Show." "I'm sorry, this is national security. They have no jurisdiction within the context of what they're trying to do to stop this."

The Trump administration clashed with U.S. District Judge James Boasberg after it deported more than 200 alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang to a prison in El Salvador – after Boasberg ordered a hold on the removals – earlier this month. The judge, an Obama appointee, has accused the administration of evading his demands for information on the deportation flights of illegal criminal migrants.

"Third, and most importantly, [Defense Secretary] Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon is now contemplating and actually engaging to some degree, using DOD [Department of Defense] forces along the border to include using the U.S. Navy and other special operations forces against cartel leaders," Shaffer continued. "This has to be a broad spectrum, it has to be used as a campaign, an effective military campaign. We contemplated this back in the '90s. Thank goodness we have people finally executing the necessary steps to do this."

Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt said that Boasberg's background needs to deeply scrutinized "because the judge is so conflicted on the corruption side from DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] spotlights."

"You've got his wife, who's involved in an NGO [non-governmental organization] that's benefited to millions of dollars from USAID and then you've got his daughter in a subversive organization as well," Holt said. "So, the scales of justice are very, very uneven here, and we've got to take care of this soon. And it's not just the MS-13 play. As we start to put the noose around Iran and its nuclear weapons program, look for terror cells here to activate. That means that the feds are going to need our help on Main Street, because, quite frankly, we're all outnumbered."

Shaffer added that he thinks "it's great" that the Trump administration is taking action to secure the U.S. from criminal illegal immigrants.

"Man, oh man, I don't think anybody wants to end up in one of those prisons, but that's what they should understand where they're going to go if they get captured," he said.

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