JUST IN: Appeals Panel Clears The Way For Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan

A three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled on Monday that the federal government has the authority to deport individuals residing in the country illegally, even if local officials oppose such actions. The ruling comes as the Biden administration transitions out and President-elect Donald Trump signals a return to hardline immigration policies.

The 29-page opinion, authored by Judge Daniel Bress and joined by Judges Michael Hawkins and Richard Clinton, upheld the federal government’s preeminence in immigration enforcement, effectively countering local and state attempts to obstruct deportation operations.

At the center of the case was an executive order issued in April 2019 by King County Executive Dow Constantine in Washington State. The directive prohibited the use of a county airfield near Seattle by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for charter flights deporting foreign nationals. The county argued that the move was within its rights to prevent federal immigration policies from disrupting local communities.

However, the court’s decision firmly rejected this argument. The ruling arrives just weeks after Trump’s reelection, a result many attribute to his promise to reinstate and expand deportation measures. Trump’s transition team has already signaled plans to implement a series of executive orders to expand deportations and reduce asylum protections.

Bad day to be a Denver mayor.

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 3, 2024

King County International Airport’s use in immigration enforcement has been at the center of a long legal battle. According to The Denver Gazette, an order from King County Executive Dow Constantine had sought to bar the airport, located adjacent to a major Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) base in Seattle, from facilitating “the transportation and deportation of immigration detainees” in ICE custody. This applied to detainees traveling domestically or internationally.

The Trump team challenged the order, asserting that it violated the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and conflicted with an Instrument of Transfer agreement dating back to World War II. This agreement, signed during the airport’s transfer to local control, guaranteed federal access to the facility for certain operations.

A federal district court sided with the Trump administration, finding that Constantine’s directive overstepped constitutional boundaries and breached the historic agreement. King County appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, hoping for a reversal.

However, the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s ruling. A three-judge panel determined that the order not only violated the Supremacy Clause—by interfering with federal immigration enforcement—but also breached the terms of the Instrument of Transfer, cementing federal rights to use the airport for activities tied to national operations.

The court found that the order not only violated federal law but also caused specific harm to the federal government, including increased operational costs and the inability to conduct deportation flights, which were essential to ICE’s duties.

Constantine defended the directive as aligned with King County’s values opposing family separations and unsafe deportations. However, the Trump administration sued, arguing it obstructed federal enforcement and violated longstanding agreements. Both the district court and Ninth Circuit agreed, affirming the order’s illegality and reinforcing constitutional limits on local interference.

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