Rachel Maddow

If the Fifth Circuit or the United States Supreme Court does not act tonight, what do we believe will happen to the men in that Texas detention center and possibly on that bus? Joining us now is Aaron Reikland-Melnick. He's an immigration attorney and senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. He's been closely following this case. Mr. Reikland-Melnick, thank you very much for joining us.

I appreciate your time. Thank you for having me. I'm not a lawyer and I'm not an expert in immigration law. Let me just ask you, first of all, if I explained any of that wrong or missed anything important about what we understand about this case thus far.

I appreciate your time. Thank you for having me. I'm not a lawyer and I'm not an expert in immigration law. Let me just ask you, first of all, if I explained any of that wrong or missed anything important about what we understand about this case thus far.

In terms of what the district court judge said tonight in Washington, D.C., he expressed that he was essentially sympathetic to the case that was being made by the plaintiffs here, but he felt constrained by how the Supreme Court has ruled in cases of this type already. What do you make of the judge's—essentially saying tonight that he was inclined to act, but felt his hands were tied?

In terms of what the district court judge said tonight in Washington, D.C., he expressed that he was essentially sympathetic to the case that was being made by the plaintiffs here, but he felt constrained by how the Supreme Court has ruled in cases of this type already. What do you make of the judge's—essentially saying tonight that he was inclined to act, but felt his hands were tied?

Right, and we should make clear, Judge Boasberg is the judge that initially ordered the first planes that were heading to El Salvador to turn around mid-flight, and the Trump administration didn't do it. We're still now litigating the consequences of that.

Right, and we should make clear, Judge Boasberg is the judge that initially ordered the first planes that were heading to El Salvador to turn around mid-flight, and the Trump administration didn't do it. We're still now litigating the consequences of that.

But I feel like because that water is under the bridge, and the men who were on those planes that didn't turn around are still, and perhaps forever now, locked up in that El Salvadoran prison, because since then, the Trump administration has articulated with glee that they feel utterly powerless to ever retrieve anybody from that prison. And once they're there, the U.S.

But I feel like because that water is under the bridge, and the men who were on those planes that didn't turn around are still, and perhaps forever now, locked up in that El Salvadoran prison, because since then, the Trump administration has articulated with glee that they feel utterly powerless to ever retrieve anybody from that prison. And once they're there, the U.S.

washes their hands of them and El Salvador can do with them as they will. And they don't think those people will ever get out. The Supreme Court is aware of all of those things right now. Frankly, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is aware of all of those things right now. If they believe, if they believe, as the ACLU suspects,

washes their hands of them and El Salvador can do with them as they will. And they don't think those people will ever get out. The Supreme Court is aware of all of those things right now. Frankly, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is aware of all of those things right now. If they believe, if they believe, as the ACLU suspects,

that those planes are going to leave Texas and fly yet more men irrevocably to that El Salvador in prison, if not tomorrow, then Sunday, if not Sunday, then Monday. Do you believe the Supreme Court, in the reasoning that we've seen from them thus far, will be inclined to try to stop Trump from doing that?

that those planes are going to leave Texas and fly yet more men irrevocably to that El Salvador in prison, if not tomorrow, then Sunday, if not Sunday, then Monday. Do you believe the Supreme Court, in the reasoning that we've seen from them thus far, will be inclined to try to stop Trump from doing that?

Right. You're breaking the principle that you said was operative here, even for these cases. Yes. Thank you for helping us understand that. Aaron Reikland-Melnick is an immigration attorney and a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. And I just want to say, Aaron, that your public communications on this, your...

Right. You're breaking the principle that you said was operative here, even for these cases. Yes. Thank you for helping us understand that. Aaron Reikland-Melnick is an immigration attorney and a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. And I just want to say, Aaron, that your public communications on this, your...

statements online, your use of social media to explain some of these things as they've been going. We've got lawyers on staff. We talk to all sorts of different people and reporters and our own team about this stuff all the time. You've been really helpful in explaining this stuff to the public in a way that I think makes a lot more people understand it than otherwise would.

statements online, your use of social media to explain some of these things as they've been going. We've got lawyers on staff. We talk to all sorts of different people and reporters and our own team about this stuff all the time. You've been really helpful in explaining this stuff to the public in a way that I think makes a lot more people understand it than otherwise would.

So I thank you for doing that, and I'd encourage you to keep that up. It's a real service to your country. Thank you very much. All right. We've got more news here ahead tonight. Stay with us. It's just a little throwaway line in a much bigger story. But sometimes those little throwaway lines are very helpful and they really stick with me. I'll show you what I mean.

So I thank you for doing that, and I'd encourage you to keep that up. It's a real service to your country. Thank you very much. All right. We've got more news here ahead tonight. Stay with us. It's just a little throwaway line in a much bigger story. But sometimes those little throwaway lines are very helpful and they really stick with me. I'll show you what I mean.

Here's the headline in The Wall Street Journal. The headline is anxious trading partners promise to buy American to stave off Trump's tariffs. You've seen a million articles like this, right? The bulk of the article under that headline is about what you would expect. Again, you've seen a lot like this. It's about various countries trying to strike deals with the U.S.