This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.Welcome to The Logoff: Today Im focusing on the Trump administrations showdown with the courts over deportations, a standoff with major implications for immigration policy and even larger ones for the rule of law.Whats the latest? Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime power that gives the president authority to deport certain foreign nationals without a hearing. By Saturday, the administration had used that power to deport hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador, including alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. A federal judge ordered the deportations paused amid lawsuits from civil liberties groups, but the migrants arrived in El Salvador and remain there despite the judges order.Did the administration violate a court order? The judge ruled the deportations should be paused. The administration claims the judge lacked the authority to halt the deportations, in part because his order wasnt issued until some deportation flights were over international waters. Critics say the administration is pettifogging the issue to obscure the fact that it overran a federal judge.Whats the big picture for immigration? Due process was always going to pose legal and logistical hurdles to Trumps plan for the largest mass deportation campaign in history. In the Alien Enemies Act, the administration has found a partial workaround at the expense of civil liberties. Whats the big picture for democracy? Amid congressional Republicans supine posture, the judicial branch has been the main check on Trumps power. The big question has been: What happens if Trump ignores the courts? The administration has now shown at least a willingness to flout the spirit of a court ruling even if theyre not explicitly saying theyre defying the courts order. That puts us a step closer to a full-blown Constitutional crisis.And with that, its time to log offIve struggled to face whats unfolding in places that depended on USAID before the administration gutted the agency, which is why I was so grateful for my colleague Sigal Samuels Vox piece on how we can help. She writes: Some may question whether it should fall to private donors to fill in the funding gaps this way; isnt this the governments job? It is. But in moments when the government isnt doing nearly enough, individual generosity can really shine by stepping in with emergency aid. This is one of those moments. You are not powerless here. Thanks for reading, and Ill see you back here tomorrow.See More: