The White House has announced that it will appeal against a ruling stating that the administration disregarded a court order on deportation flights.
<
div aria-live=”polite” aria-atomic=”true”>
A US court has determined that there is “probable cause” to hold the Trump administration accountable for criminal contempt for ignoring a court order to halt deportation flights to El Salvador.
The ruling, made by US District Judge James Boasberg on Wednesday, asserts that the Trump administration has shown “willful disregard” for his March 15 ruling. According to this ruling, the government is not permitted to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members under an 18th-century wartime law without providing them an opportunity to challenge their removals.
The judge stated in his 46-page ruling that the actions of the Trump administration “are sufficient for the court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt.”
Boasberg emphasized that the court did not arrive at this decision quickly or carelessly, but rather after giving the administration repeated opportunities to either rectify or explain their actions, which have not been found satisfactory.
Furthermore, Boasberg stated that the administration still has an opportunity to avoid being held in contempt if it allows deportees to oppose their removals in court.
In response to the ruling, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung stated that the administration plans to appeal the decision. Cheung added that President Trump is fully committed to ensuring that terrorists and criminal migrants do not pose a threat to Americans and their communities.
Boasberg’s ruling marks the furthest any court has gone in suggesting that officials from the Trump administration could face punishment related to the controversial deportation flights.
The Trump administration has deported 238 individuals it claims are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to El Salvador, where they have been held in a maximum-security prison. However, there is limited evidence supporting these claims of gang membership, and US media outlets have reported that only a small fraction of the deportees have documented criminal records.
The administration has controversially invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, granting the US president the authority to detain or deport noncitizens during wartime. Critics argue that this law is not applicable since the US is not currently facing an invasion or warfare.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/17/us-judge-says-probable-cause-to-hold-trump-administration-in-contempt?traffic_source=rss
