A US judge said on Wednesday that Trump administration officials could face criminal contempt charges for violating a US federal judge's order halting deportations of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang who had no chance to challenge their removals.
US District Judge James Boasberg, in a written ruling in Washington found probable cause to hold officials in criminal contempt of court, saying that the administration demonstrated willful disregard for his March 15 order barring the deportations to El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
According to many of the migrants' lawyers and family members, those deported were not gang members and were never given a chance to contest the US government's assertion that they were.
DAILY POST reports that the ruling on Wednesday is the closest any court has come to suggesting punishing the administration since the second return of President Donald Trump to the White House on January 20, and escalates the confrontation between the judicial and executive branches.
The US Justice Department appealed the ruling to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile, Boasberg said the administration could still avoid being held in contempt by taking steps to comply with his order – namely, by allowing the migrants to challenge their removals in court.
He also gave the administration until April 23 to outline what steps it would take, or to identify the officials who decided to disregard his order so they could potentially be prosecuted.
The judge pointed out that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had retweeted an X post in which El Salvador President Nayib Bukele shared a link to a news story about Boasberg's order blocking deportations.
“Boasts by Defendants intimated that they had defied the Court's Order deliberately and gleefully,” the judge wrote.
Writing on X, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the administration would seek immediate appellate relief.
