Judge weighs holding Trump officials in contempt over deportation order
Apr 03, 2025
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- D.C. Federal Judge James Boasberg suggested he may hold a member of the Trump administration in contempt over concerns they violated his order about three deportation flights last month.
Court records show the deportation flights left South Texas and took deportees to a
notorious prison in El Salvador.
The Trump administration said everybody who was on that flight was part of a Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The Trump administration said the Alien Enemies Act gave President Donald Trump the authority to deport them.
"We truly believe everybody who was on that flight was a public safety threat, national security threat, and a terrorist," said Tom Homan, the White House border czar.
The ACLU disputed that claim, arguing in court the people deported didn't get a chance to challenge ICE's assessment they were terrorists. Judge Boasberg issued an order last month for the Trump administration to turn the planes around. The administration did not. Three airplanes landed in El Salvador on March 15.
"The government acted in bad faith throughout the day," Boasberg said in court on Thursday.
Boasberg probed Department of Justice Attorney Drew Ensign about the timeline on March 15. He asked Ensign who at the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and the Trump administration he told about the order on March 15.
The judge indicated he may hold hearings to determine whether anybody in the administration should be held in contempt.
"We are not going to tolerate foreign terrorists wreaking havoc on American communities, period," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday.
Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-Texas) said he supports the administration removing gang members in the country illegally, but said the administration needs to follow the law.
"We cannot come to the day where we ignore and do not abide by federal judges' orders," Gonzalez said.
Boasberg has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting people based solely on the Alien Enemies Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld his decision.
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court for permission to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. ...read more read less