A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily halted a trial judge’s move to open contempt proceedings against the Trump administration, pausing a legal showdown over deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under a wartime-era statute, The New York Times reported.
A federal appeals court late Friday issued a temporary stay blocking a trial judge’s plan to launch contempt proceedings against the Trump administration over the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, a move the judge said may have violated a prior court order.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit came in a one-page order granting an administrative stay. The court said it needed additional time to evaluate whether U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg overstepped his authority by threatening contempt proceedings.
Boasberg had earlier ordered the administration to halt deportation flights of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law. In a March 15 hearing, Boasberg issued oral instructions to stop all such flights and said planes already airborne should turn back. However, deportations proceeded, with nearly 140 Venezuelan migrants reportedly ending up at a high-security Salvadoran prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.
Concerned that his orders had been ignored, Boasberg on Wednesday offered Trump officials a choice: provide the deported migrants with due process or face a contempt investigation. His proposal included steps ranging from sworn declarations to giving testimony in court. If the source of the directive could not be determined, Boasberg said he would refer the matter for prosecution — and, if necessary, appoint a special prosecutor himself.
The Justice Department objected in a Friday morning filing, calling Boasberg’s plan a “dramatic and improper intrusion” into executive authority. Department lawyers argued that the judge was attempting to direct foreign policy and act as a prosecutor, roles outside the judiciary’s scope.
“District courts cannot outsource prosecutorial power to private citizens,” department attorneys wrote. “Insulate them from executive branch control and then unleash them against the executive branch.”
Boasberg’s order indicated he believed someone in the administration had engaged in “willful disregard” of his March directive. If the Justice Department declined to prosecute, Boasberg said he would invoke a provision in the criminal contempt law allowing the court to appoint an outside attorney.
The appeals court did not take a position on the merits of the dispute, stating only that it needed more time to consider the legal arguments. Both the Justice Department and lawyers representing the Venezuelan migrants have been asked to submit further briefs next week.
Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday temporarily blocked the deportation of Venezuelan detainees held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in northern Texas. The order prevents removals “until further order of this court.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.
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