A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s contempt proceedings against Trump administration officials, after the Obama-appointed judge accused them of defying his order to halt deportation flights carrying alleged violent foreign gang members.
In a 2-1 decision, the court paused Boasberg’s move to find probable cause that the administration violated his March 15 order to turn the flights around as they were en route to El Salvador. Judge Nina Pillard, also an Obama appointee, dissented. The administration argued it was impossible to comply with the last-minute order, citing concerns over national security and public safety.
The judge’s pursuit is particularly unusual given that the U.S. Supreme Court already overturned his initial order blocking President Trump from invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The rarely used law grants the administration broad authority to swiftly detain and deport illegal aliens suspected of ties to foreign criminal or terrorist organizations. Trump’s legal team argues that the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua—known for drug trafficking and extortion—poses a clear national security threat, warranting use of the act. The administration has labeled the gang a “hybrid criminal state,” warning that its members are entering the U.S. by posing as asylum seekers.
In March, Judge Boasberg halted two deportation flights scheduled to remove more than 200 Venezuelans, arguing the government had failed to provide proper legal notice and due process. His order was later overturned in a narrow 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett siding with the Court’s three liberal justices in dissent. While the Supreme Court affirmed that deportees have the right to appeal, it ruled that such challenges must be filed in the jurisdictions where the individuals are being processed. The ACLU had filed its lawsuit on behalf of several deportees in Washington, D.C., which brought the case before Boasberg.
The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively stripped the case from Boasberg’s jurisdiction, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing contempt proceedings against Trump administration officials for allegedly defying his now-invalidated order. In a 46-page decision issued earlier this week, the judge sharply criticized the administration and stated he had found probable cause to move forward with the contempt case.
“As this Opinion will detail, the Court ultimately determines that the Government’s actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its Order, sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt,” the judge wrote. “If a party chooses to disobey the order — rather than wait for it to be reversed through the judicial process — such disobedience is punishable as contempt, notwithstanding any later-revealed deficiencies in the order.” The proceedings are now on hold following the appeals court’s decision, though the court clarified it has not issued a final ruling on Boasberg’s contempt claims. Petitioners have been given until April 23 to file their response, while the government must submit its reply by April 25.
