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Justice Department lawyers revealed this week that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was behind the decision not to divert deportation flights following a judge’s order.
tuesday court filed This is the first time the US government revealed who was responsible for handing over accused Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador US District Judge James Boasberg orders to change flights in March, Due to the government’s refusal to do so a criminal contempt inquiryAbout which Boasberg said he was moving forward last week.
The flights last March have become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation strategy and his administration Sample Of Disobeying court orders, According to some judges.
The DOJ reported this week that after a judge ordered the flights to return to the US, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch and another DOJ official provided “legal advice” to Homeland Security Acting General Counsel Joseph Mazzara related to the planes that had already taken off. Mazzara then passed that information on to Noem.
“After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA [Alien Enemies Act] Detainees who were removed from the United States prior to court order may be transferred to El Salvador custody,” DOJ lawyers wrote.
Independent Comment has been sought from the Department of Homeland Security.
The DOJ insisted that Noem’s decision “was lawful and consistent with a proper interpretation of the Court’s order.”
The government has said that it has not violated the court’s March 15 order. Regarding the contempt investigation of Judge Boasberg, DOJ lawyers said, “No further proceedings are necessary or appropriate.”
In March, Trump Applicable For the fourth time in U.S. history, the Alien Enemy Act of 1798, which states that “all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of [Tren de Aragua]Those who are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States, may be apprehended, detained, secured, and removed as alien enemies.
More than 200 Venezuelans were on board a plane bound for El Salvador and the country’s notorious CECOT prison when the American Civil Liberties Union challenged their removal.
Boasberg ordered the government to temporarily halt their expulsions, including from flights that were in the air.
The government has argued that there were discrepancies between the judge’s oral instructions during the hearing and his written order given immediately thereafter.
While Boasberg’s verbal instructions said removed class members “need to be returned to the United States,” the judge’s written order “says nothing about returning already removed class members,” DOJ lawyers wrote in Tuesday’s filing.
In April, Boasberg said the government’s failure to return those flights reflected “willful disregard” that was “enough for the court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt.”
A divided federal appeals court in August Thrown away Boasberg’s attempt to pursue criminal contempt. A separate panel this month found that the judge could continue his investigation.
“The district court’s order here was a measured and necessary response to what it reasonably understood as shocking conduct by the executive branch,” the panel wrote.