President Donald Trump's Department of Justice appealed a federal court order requiring an immigration official to attend court daily after he was found to be using excessive force against protesters, according to a new court filing.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ordered that Customs and Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino appear in her courtroom daily at 6 p.m. and brief her about the actions of his agents that day. A federal prosecutor described the ruling to The Associated Press as "extremely unusual."
The Department of Justice filed a motion for an emergency stay on Wednesday, which would prevent the court's previous order from being enforced during the case.
"Requiring Chief Bovino—a senior executive official overseeing critical CBP operations throughout the Chicago area—to appear for daily questioning far exceeds the recognized bounds of discovery," the order reads in part. "The order significantly interferes with the quintessentially executive function of ensuring the Nation’s immigration laws are properly enforced by waylaying a senior executive official critical to that mission on a daily basis."
"The court’s order is also untethered to the plaintiff's underlying claims and goes substantially beyond what is reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with the court’s prior orders," it adds. "And the order only underscores the extent to which the district court has exceeded its judicial role by arrogating to itself the role of supervising and micromanaging the day-to-day operations of an Executive Branch law-enforcement agency."
