Reagan-Appointed Judge Torches Trump: “This Should Outrage Every American”

A Republican-appointed federal judge just took a political flamethrower to Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown—calling his administration’s conduct not only unconstitutional, but deeply un-American.

In a fiery ruling released Thursday, a unanimous panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rebuked Trump and top officials in his Department of Homeland Security for ignoring multiple court orders to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father of three, who was deported to one of the most brutal prisons in Central America.

The opinion was penned by none other than Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III—a staunch conservative appointed by President Ronald Reagan. In a stunning reversal of partisan expectations, Wilkinson accused Trump of treating the Constitution as optional.

“Trump is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order,” Wilkinson wrote. “This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.”

The court found that Trump’s DHS—led by Kristi Noem—and Attorney General Pam Bondi must now testify under oath to explain why they ignored a judge’s order to bring Abrego Garcia back.

The administration claims it no longer has custody of the 29-year-old, as he’s now being held by El Salvador. But the court isn’t buying it.

“This excuse reeks of bad faith,” the ruling said. “If today the Executive claims the right to deport without due process and in disregard of court orders, what assurance will there be tomorrow that it will not deport American citizens and then disclaim responsibility to bring them home?”

The case centers around Abrego Garcia, who was ripped from his Maryland home and dumped into El Salvador’s notorious “mega-prison” last month, reportedly as part of a mass deportation initiative targeting hundreds of migrants. A DHS official has already admitted the deportation was a bureaucratic “mistake.”

While the Trump White House claims Abrego Garcia is affiliated with MS-13, his legal team denies the accusation and notes he has never been charged with gang activity in the U.S.

More alarmingly, Trump invoked the obscure Alien Enemies Act, a centuries-old wartime provision, to justify the deportation—and he’s hinted that even American citizens could be next.

During a Tuesday press briefing, Trump said, “There are homegrown criminals destroying our cities. Why shouldn’t they be deported too?”

Legal experts have warned that such rhetoric isn’t just dangerous—it echoes authoritarian playbooks.

Judge Wilkinson’s ruling warned against exactly this kind of power grab:

“Too often today, mutual respect among the branches of government has not been the case—as calls to impeach judges and ignore lawful orders sadly illustrate.”

The panel included two other judges—one appointed by Bill Clinton, the other by Barack Obama—who joined Wilkinson in condemning the administration’s actions.

Trump, meanwhile, continues to defy court orders, including a separate ruling last week that he stop another deportation flight loaded with Venezuelan migrants. The district court’s chief judge, James Boasberg, has begun proceedings to hold the former president and his cabinet in criminal contempt.

Trump’s response? He called Boasberg a “radical left lunatic.”

Neither the White House nor the Justice Department has responded to media inquiries.

This isn’t just a legal skirmish. It’s a full-blown constitutional crisis—and now even Reagan’s appointees are sounding the alarm.

“When a president acts as though the law does not apply to him,” one civil liberties attorney told us, “it’s not about immigration anymore. It’s about whether we’re still a country governed by laws—or just by one man’s will.”