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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Trump administration officials have been given a deadline of next week to submit declarations explaining the decision not to turn around deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants, despite a legal order to do so.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is investigating whether the Republican administration deliberately ignored his instruction to turn around two planes carrying Venezuelan migrants out of the U.S. in March.
As part of a contempt inquiry, Judge Boasberg has ordered Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Kristi Noem and other officials, to submit declarations by December 5 explaining their actions.
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The Trump administration has denied any violation and Newsweek has contacted the DHS for comment by email outside of office hours.
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Why It Matters
President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Planes with 100 detainees were in transit on March 15 and 16 when Judge Boasberg issued both an oral and written directive requiring the flights to be turned back and the detainees be kept in U.S. custody.
The planes landed in El Salvador, sparking a fight between the judicial and executive branches of the U.S. government.
Boasberg has resumed a criminal contempt inquiry to determine whether DHS officials, including Noem, deliberately defied his directive in a case which highlights tensions between Trump’s deportation strategy and judicial oversight.
What To Know
Boasberg has ordered the Trump administration to submit declarations by December 5 from all officials involved in the decision not to return the flights of immigrants to the U.S., after which he will decide whether to call for testimony from witnesses.
Boasberg wrote in the order that he must determine if Noem or anyone else "should be referred for potential contempt prosecution."
He said that the court must also decide if the court order to halt the flights was clear and reasonably specific, if the defendant violated the order, and if the violation was willful.
Boasberg had previously threatened to have the responsible official or officials prosecuted on a contempt charge but an appeals court threw out Boasberg's decision. However, judges on the same appeals court ruled on November 14 the investigation could proceed.
This week, filings by the Justice Department said Noem made the decision about continuing to transfer the Venezuelan men despite the court order, after advice from the Homeland Security department’s acting general counsel, Joseph Mazzara.
The Trump administration has argued it was not obligated to follow the oral directive by Boasberg and the Justice Department wrote in the filing that the decision was lawful and "consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Court’s order."
The two planes had already departed U.S. airspace, so the migrants fell outside of the court's order, Justice Department lawyers said in the court filing.
What People Are Saying
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in his order the court must "determine whether Secretary Noem or anyone else should be referred for potential contempt proceedings."
He added that the "Court must decide if: (1) the court order was 'clear and reasonably specific''; (2) 'the defendant violated the order'; and (3) 'the violation was willful.'"
Justice Department attorneys said in a filing: "The Government maintains that its actions did not violate the Court’s order — certainly not with the clarity required for criminal contempt—and no further proceedings are warranted."
What Happens Next
Boasberg has given a December 5 deadline for DHS officials to make submissions, after which he may call for witnesses. The Trump administration is likely to continue its defense of its actions with the president telling Fox News his administration was confident the Supreme Court would rule in its favor.
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