Judge Has Probable Cause For Contempt In Migrant Flight Case

Federal Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., is considering holding Trump officials in contempt over deportation flights conducted under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Boasberg wants to know whether those officials purposely defied his March 15 orders, which stated that the deportations could not take place for at least two weeks while he considered the merits of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. Two planes were already in the air and did not return with the people on board as was required by Boasberg's order. Another plane, which was reportedly on the ground after the order was issued, also left the U.S.

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Hundreds of people the Trump administration contends are foreign gang members, were on the flights that landed in El Salvador. They were transferred to a notorious maximum security prison, where they may spend a year, Scripps News reports. "I believe there is probable cause to find contempt," Boasberg told an attorney for the government. Administration officials could be subpoenaed to testify about what they knew about his orders. The judge said he would issue an order, likely by next week. This week, the Trump administration admitted it made a mistake when it deported a migrant who was given asylum in 2019. Kilmer Armado Abrego-Garcia was on one of the planes that landed in El Salvador. He had previously been accused of being a member of the MS-13 gang, but it was never proved. He was still deported and the Trump administration said it would not make any effort to bring him back to the U.S.