Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected calls for impeaching federal judges shortly after President Donald Trump demanded the removal of a judge who ruled against his deportation plans. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in a rare statement. Associated Press reporter Chris Megerian says the flashpoint for the latest controversy was deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, which is being paid by the U.S. to imprison them. “This judge said the president could not move forward with his plans to deport people to El Salvador. Next, after this, the Chief Justice, John Roberts, issued his own statement saying it is not appropriate to call for impeaching judges who do not rule the way you want them to. At the appropriate venue for that is to appeal the case and to work through the appellate process,” Mergerian said. Almost never does a chief justice issue a statement such as the one Roberts has written. “So what you're seeing here is inching closer to, open conflict between the executive branch and judicial branch, and, you know, laying the groundwork for the possibility of a constitutional crisis,” Megerian said.