Washington — A divided federal appeals court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s request to set aside a district judge’s decision finding probable cause that some federal officials violated an order to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants bound for El Salvador.
The 2-1 decision from a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a massive victory for the Trump administration, which has lambasted U.S. District Judge James Boasberg for overstepping his authority when he initiated criminal contempt proceedings in April.
The D.C. Circuit had issued a temporary pause of Boasberg’s decision while it took more time to consider the issue. In an unsigned opinion issued Friday, Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, both appointed by President Trump in his first term, granted a request from the Justice Department to toss out Boasberg’s contempt order. Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, dissented.
The Alien Enemies Act case
The dispute over Boasberg’s contempt order stems from immigration officials’ efforts to deport Venezuelan migrants under the wartime Alien Enemies Act, which President Trump invoked in March to swiftly remove alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
In response to a fast-moving legal challenge brought by a group of migrants in Washington, D.C., over the removals, Boasberg temporarily blocked the deportations and issued an oral order directing the Trump administration to return Venezuelan migrants subject to Mr. Trump’s declaration who were on planes bound for El Salvador back to the U.S. A written order issued shortly after prevented the Trump administration from conducting any deportations of noncitizens under the Alien Enemies Act.
But Boasberg said that despite his injunctions, the Trump administration did not stop the removals, and the planes carrying the migrants deported under the Alien Enemies Act landed in El Salvador. The planes were already outside U.S. airspace when Boasberg issued his order blocking U.S. officials from “removing” the detainees, a fact that the appeals court noted in ruling for the administration. Most of the people were transferred to El Salvador’s notorious supermax prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.
The administration’s actions raised questions as to whether it had violated Boasberg’s order, and the judge in April ruled that probable cause existed to find government officials in criminal contempt over what he was their defiance. Boasberg said the government’s actions demonstrated a “willful disregard” for his order.
“The court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions. None of their responses…
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We 5guruayurveda.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on. For any glitch kindly connect at 5guruayurveda.com
