A federal judge in New York rebuked the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act, saying the president's proclamation was "contrary to the law" and comparing it to a medieval inquisition.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein temporarily extended his order blocking some deportations in New York and blasted a Justice Department lawyer for suggesting that due process is a "flexible standard."

"This is the United States of America," Hellerstein said. "People are being thrown out of the country because of their tattoos."

"The law is clear -- if you are kicking out a person, you give them an opportunity to defend themselves," he said. "You can't kick someone out by guilt by association."

While Hellerstein reserved his decision about potentially issuing a preliminary injunction to block some removals, he noted that he sees "serious problems" with Trump's recent use of the AEA, including the practice of sending migrants to El Salvador where they face inhumane conditions.

“This proclamation is contrary to the law," he said.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous

Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Justice Department on Tuesday for a meeting with multiple top Trump administration officials as part of a task force to investigate claims that the Biden administration unfairly targeted Christians.

The meeting comes as new revelations swirl around Hegseth messaging potentially sensitive information in at least two Signal chats last month -- one of which was created by Hegseth himself and included his wife, brother and personal lawyer.

Bondi has brushed off suggestions that the Justice Department would open any investigation into the Signal chat controversy, even as Hegseth indicated in an interview earlier Tuesday that DOJ could seek criminal charges against some of his former Defense Department aides dismissed last week for allegedly leaking information to the news media.

Aides to Bondi quickly ushered reporters out of the room opening remarks from her and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche before they could take any questions.

Bondi said the Justice Department was aggressively investigating events during the Biden administration that conservatives say showed "anti-Christian" bias by senior law enforcement officials. Among those are prosecutions brought against anti-abortion protesters convicted of obstructing patients' access to reproductive health care clinics, many of whom were pardoned in Trump's first days in office or had their cases dropped by the DOJ.

Another accusation from Bondi was that "the FBI spied on traditional Catholics in their parishes" -- a reference to an FBI memo leaked during the Biden administration that warned of possible threats posed by "radical traditionalist" Catholics that stemmed from a domestic terrorism investigation into a suspect in Henrico County, Virginia. An investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general Michael Horowitz later determined there was no "evidence of malicious intent" by officials who had compiled the memo.

Bondi also highlighted what she described as a recent success by the Trump administration in combatting violence targeting churches -- the conviction of an Arizona man who plotted to bomb Christian churches in the state. The man convicted in that case, Zimnako Salah, was arrested by federal authorities in 2024 during the Biden administration.

-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin

President Donald Trump will be departing Friday and returning Saturday for Pope Francis' funeral service at St. Peter's Basilica.

He will also be visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 -16.

"The president looks to strengthen the ties between the United States and these countries in which he will be visiting. He'll be having many bilateral meetings and talks and we look forward to the trip," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday.

During his first term, the president's first overseas trip was to Saudi Arabia

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after it was revealed he had a second Signal group chat with family members where he discussed Yemen airstrikes.

"They were Pentagon employees who leaked against their boss, to news agencies in this room," Leavitt said. "And it's been clear since Day 1 from this administration that we are not going to tolerate individuals who leaked to the mainstream media, particularly when it comes to sensitive information."

"And the secretary of Defense is doing a tremendous job, and he is bringing the monumental change to the Pentagon. And there's a lot of people in this city who reject monumental change. And I think, frankly, that's why we've seen a smear campaign against the secretary of defense since the moment that President Trump announced his nomination before the United States Senate."

Leavitt reiterated that Trump stands behind Hegseth. Trump defended his defense secretary on Monday, saying he still had confidence in him.