Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Chief Justice John Roberts was “profoundly wrong” to focus on checking the executive branch while ignoring how lower courts routinely block Trump-backed immigration policies.
Roberts defended judicial independence and said that impeachment should not be used to punish judges over legal disagreements. During an appearance on the podcast “Interesting Times with Ross Douthat,” Vance said that by ignoring the overreach of lower courts, particularly in blocking Trump-era immigration policies, the judiciary has distorted the constitutional balance and thwarted democratic accountability.
“I saw an interview with Justice Roberts, Chief Justice Roberts recently, where he said the role of the court is to check the excesses of the executive. I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment. That’s one half of his job,” Vance said.
Vance warned that the courts are now obstructing what voters have repeatedly demanded: strong immigration enforcement.
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“The other half of his job is to check the excesses of his own branch, and you cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people they’re not allowed to have what they voted for, and that’s where we are right now,” Vance said. “We’re going to keep working it through the immigration court process, through the Supreme Court, as much as possible.”
Vance tied his criticism to broader policy goals under the second Trump administration, saying that immigration enforcement must go beyond deportation numbers and focus on long-term infrastructure and legal clarity. (RELATED: Jonathan Turley Details ‘Pretty Hot Argument’ Over Nationwide Injunctions At Supreme Court)
“Success to me is that we have established a set of rules and principles that the courts are comfortable with and that we have the infrastructure to do that allows us to deport large numbers of illegal aliens when large numbers of illegal aliens come into the country,” Vance said. “That to me is real success, but I think whether we’re able to get there is a function, of course, of our efforts, but also the courts themselves.”
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration in April from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), ruling that those targeted for removal had the right to challenge their deportation. The decision paused a key part of Trump’s broader crackdown on criminal alien networks.
Trump had issued multiple executive orders aimed at strengthening border security and curbing illegal immigration, including labeling TdA, MS-13, and Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. On March 15, he invoked the Alien Enemies Act to fast-track deportations of TdA members, citing national security concerns.
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