Overview
- Judge James Boasberg directed the administration to file sworn declarations by December 5 from every official involved in the decision not to turn back two March flights.
- The order is a first step toward deciding whether to seek live testimony or refer officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, for potential criminal contempt.
- Justice Department filings say Noem approved transferring the migrants to El Salvador after advice from DHS acting general counsel Joseph Mazzara, who consulted senior DOJ officials Todd Blanche and Emil Bove.
- Government lawyers argue the judge’s in-court instruction was not in the written order and that the passengers were already removed once the planes left U.S. airspace, a reading a D.C. Circuit judge deemed plausible.
- The March 15 flights carrying Venezuelan migrants landed in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, and Boasberg is also considering letting at least 137 returnees contest “Tren de Aragua” gang labels as experts note contempt sanctions against officials are rare on appeal.