Abhishek Kambli Defends Trump Administration’s Deportation Actions In Tense Court Hearing

Photo: The Federalist Society

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a high-stakes courtroom exchange, Deputy Associate Attorney General Abhishek Kambli defended the Trump administration’s handling of deportations under an 18th-century law, resisting demands from a federal judge to disclose key details about weekend deportation flights.

During the March 18 hearing, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg sharply questioned Kambli over the administration’s response to his March 15 order to temporarily halt deportations. Boasberg had explicitly directed any planes carrying deportees to return to the United States, but the Justice Department argued that only the judge’s written ruling—not his oral directive—was legally binding.

Judge Boasberg called the argument “a stretch.”

Kambli  also refused to provide details about how many flights were involved or whether deported individuals could be brought back, citing national security concerns. “I am only authorized to say what we have said in the court filings,” Kambli stated. His esistance to the judge’s inquiries marked a rare moment of a government attorney openly rebuffing a federal judge’s questions which The Hill described as “remarkable.”

Boasberg has pushed back, warning that if the government refused to disclose such information, it would need to justify its position with classified documentation.

Kambli, who currently serves as Deputy Attorney General in Kansas, is no stranger to high-profile litigation. He leads the Special Litigation and Constitutional Issues Division at the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, where he has successfully challenged Biden administration policies, including securing injunctions against student loan forgiveness under the SAVE plan and federal Title IX protections expanding gender identity definitions.

Before joining the Kansas AG’s office, Kambli prosecuted federal cases as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Indiana and served as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer in the U.S. Air Force, a role he continues in the Reserves. He holds a law degree from Notre Dame Law School.

The courtroom clash comes amid legal battles over the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely invoked 1798 law, to deport individuals allegedly linked to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. The law, which grants the president the power to expel immigrants from “hostile” nations during wartime or invasions, has not been used since World War II. The administration has provided no public evidence to support its claims against those deported under the policy.