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A federal judge on Tuesday threw out the Trump administration鈥檚 lawsuit against Maryland鈥檚 entire federal bench over an order by the chief judge that stopped the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen granted a request by the judges to toss the case, saying to do otherwise 鈥渨ould run counter to overwhelming precedent, depart from longstanding constitutional tradition, and offend the rule of law.鈥�

鈥淚n their wisdom, the Constitution鈥檚 framers joined three coordinate branches to establish a single sovereign,鈥� Mr. Cullen wrote. 鈥淭hat structure may occasionally engender clashes between two branches and encroachment by one branch on another鈥檚 authority. But mediating those disputes must occur in a manner that respects the Judiciary鈥檚 constitutional role.鈥�

The White House had no immediate comment.

Mr. Cullen was nominated to the federal bench by Mr. Trump in 2020. He serves in the Western District of Virginia, but he was tapped to oversee the case because all 15 of Maryland鈥檚 federal judges are named as defendants, a highly unusual circumstance that reflects the Republican administration鈥檚 harsh response to judges who slow or stop its policies.

During a hearing in August, Mr. Cullen expressed skepticism about the lawsuit. He questioned why the Trump administration needed to sue all the judges to challenge the order.

Signed by Chief Maryland District Judge George L. Russell III, the order prevents the Trump administration from immediately deporting any immigrants seeking review of their detention in the Maryland district court. It blocks their removal until 4 p.m. on the second business day after their habeas corpus petition is filed.

The order says it aims to maintain existing conditions and the potential jurisdiction of the court, ensure immigrant petitioners are able to participate in court proceedings and access attorneys, and give the government 鈥渇ulsome opportunity to brief and present arguments in its defense.鈥�

The Justice Department, which filed the suit in June, says the automatic pause violates a Supreme Court ruling and impedes the president鈥檚 authority to enforce immigration laws. The department has grown increasingly frustrated by rulings blocking Mr. Trump鈥檚 agenda, repeatedly accusing federal judges of improperly impeding his powers.

The lawsuit was an extraordinary legal maneuver, ratcheting up the administration鈥檚 fight with the federal judiciary.

Attorneys for the Maryland judges argued the lawsuit was intended to limit the power of the judiciary to review certain immigration proceedings while the Trump administration pursues a mass deportation agenda.

鈥淭he executive branch seeks to bring suit in the name of the United States against a co-equal branch of government,鈥� attorney Paul Clement said during the hearing. 鈥淭here really is no precursor for this suit.鈥�

Mr. Clement is a prominent conservative lawyer who served as solicitor general under Republican President George W. Bush. He listed several other avenues the administration could have taken to challenge the order, such as filing an appeal in an individual habeas case.

Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Themins Hedges said the government was simply seeking relief from a legal roadblock preventing effective immigration enforcement.

鈥淭he United States is a plaintiff here because the United States is being harmed,鈥� she said.

In an amended order pausing deportations, Mr. Russell said the court had received an influx of habeas petitions after hours that 鈥渞esulted in hurried and frustrating hearings in that obtaining clear and concrete information about the location and status of the petitioners is elusive.鈥� Habeas petitions allow people to challenge their detention by the government.

Attorneys for the Trump administration accused the Maryland judges of prioritizing a regular schedule, writing in court documents that 鈥渁 sense of frustration and a desire for greater convenience do not give Defendants license to flout the law.鈥�

Among the judges named in the lawsuit is Paula Xinis, who found the Trump administration in March illegally deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador 鈥� a case that quickly became a flashpoint in Mr. Trump鈥檚 immigration crackdown. Mr. Abrego Garcia was held in a notorious Salvadoran megaprison, where he claims to have been beaten and tortured.

Mr. Trump has railed against unfavorable judicial rulings, and in one case called for the impeachment of a federal judge in Washington who ordered planeloads of deported immigrants to be turned around. In July, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint against the judge.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.