Trump Admin Seeks Emergency Relief Of Boasberg Contempt Threat

The Trump management connected Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to reappraisal a little tribunal bid that threatened to clasp officials successful contempt complete March 15 deportation flights – nan latest flashpoint successful a activity of migration disputes playing retired successful national courts nationwide.

The emergency petition came hours aft U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said he recovered probable origin that management officials had violated tribunal directives to return those flights.

In his ruling, Boasberg threatened criminal contempt charges and directed nan management to taxable further declarations by April 23 explaining why specified proceedings should not move forward.

Boasberg said that if officials neglect to taxable nan declarations, nan tribunal will see holding further hearings and perchance mention nan matter for prosecution.

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP'S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

The Trump management is appealing an bid from Judge James E. Boasberg that could lead to management officials being recovered successful contempt. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Trump management revenge its entreaty pinch nan D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals connected Wednesday night.

The Trump administration's little entreaty to nan D.C. Circuit Court does not see immoderate caller details, arsenic nan facts of nan lawsuit person already been heard by nan territory and appellate court. 

The appellate tribunal past month ruled 2-1 to uphold Boasberg's impermanent restraining order.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled 5-4 past period that nan Trump management could resume its deportation flights nether nan Alien Enemies Act, truthful agelong arsenic individuals taxable to removal nether nan rule were fixed owed process protections, and nan opportunity to prosecute habeas alleviation – aliases nan expertise to person their lawsuit heard by a U.S. tribunal anterior to their removal.

Boasberg said Wednesday that nan tribunal recovered that nan Trump management had demonstrated a "willful disregard" for his March 15 emergency order, which temporarily halted each deportation flights to El Salvador nether nan Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 statute providing for specified deportations during "a declared warfare betwixt nan United States and immoderate overseas federation aliases government, aliases immoderate penetration aliases predatory incursion" by a overseas nation.

"The Court yet determines that nan Government's actions connected that time show a willful disregard for its Order, capable for nan Court to reason that probable origin exists to find nan Government successful criminal contempt," Boasberg said Wednesday.

Boasberg said he will springiness authorities officials nan opportunity to propose "other methods" of coming into compliance, which he will evaluate.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS FEDERAL JUDGE IT MIGHT INVOKE STATE SECRETS ACT ON HIGH-PROFILE DEPORTATION CASE

Salvadoran Minister of Justice and Public Security Héctor Villatoro, pointing, accompanies Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem connected a circuit of nan Terrorist Confinement Center successful Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Boasberg had scolded nan Trump administration, including Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign, for failing to comply pinch repeated requests for accusation from nan tribunal astir nan individuals deported connected nan flights – and who successful nan management knew astir nan restraining bid handed down, and when. 

The deficiency of accusation provided had sparked vexation from Boasberg, who described their compliance past period successful a blistering bid arsenic "woefully insufficient."

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The Trump administration, for its part, had based on successful an earlier emergency entreaty that Boasberg's actions amounted to a "massive, unauthorized imposition connected nan Executive’s authority to region vulnerable aliens," whom they alleged "pose threats to the American people."

"If you really believed everything you did that time was ineligible and would past a tribunal challenge, you would not person operated nan measurement that you did," Boasberg told Ensign earlier this month.