Top judge resumes contempt inquiry into Trump El Salvador deportations | US immigration
A federal judge on Wednesday said he was resuming a long-stalled court proceeding to determine whether Trump administration officials willfully violated a court order by deporting hundreds of men to El Salvador in March.
U.S. district judge James Boasberg said he would seek affidavits from administration officials to determine whether they defied a March court order to turn back the planes that took the men off U.S. soil.
“It appears that a fact-based investigation is underway and the best way forward appears to be to bring in witnesses and have them testify under oath,” Boasberg said during the hour-long status conference. he said.
A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court halted the investigation earlier this year. But a larger panel of appellate judges said Friday that Boasberg “is free to ask the government to identify the decision-makers directing the potentially derogatory actions and carefully consider next steps.”
Boasberg’s remarks on Wednesday breathed new life into his disagreement with the Trump administration over the limits of U.S. presidential power. Boasberg has drawn the ire of Trump allies who say the judge overstepped the mark by pursuing criminal contempt proceedings that could result in fines or other reprimands.
Boasberg asked the justice department to submit a proposal on November 24 outlining their proposed next steps. Boasberg requested a similar offer from the lawyers who brought the case to him on behalf of the deported men.
The justice department disputed Boasberg’s interpretation of the appeals court ruling issued last week, arguing that he lacked the authority to pursue the contempt case. The justice department also argued that the Trump administration did not knowingly defy any court orders.
Boasberg is hearing a lawsuit filed on behalf of Venezuelan gang members allegedly removed from the United States under the rarely invoked Alien Enemies Act.
Boasberg concluded in April that the Trump administration acted in “bad faith” in hastily putting together three deportation flights on March 15 while also pursuing emergency court proceedings to evaluate the legality of the effort.
The Venezuelan men at the center of the case were released from a notorious Salvadoran prison this summer after a traumatic period and returned to Venezuela as part of a U.S.-brokered prisoner swap.
