Trump Officials Showed ‘Bad Faith’ Over Deportations, Judge Says

A federal judge said there’s a “fair likelihood” that Trump administration officials violated his order to immediately halt deportations of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, adding he may cite them for contempt.

US District Judge James Boasberg held a hearing Thursday to grill a Justice Department lawyer about whether federal officials disobeyed his March 15 order to turn around planes carrying Venezuelans now held in a notorious prison in El Salvador. Through dozens of questions, Boasberg made clear that he may find probable cause that several administration officials acted with contempt by not carrying out his verbal order.

After a government attorney said US officials complied with Boasberg’s orders that day, the judge said “there is a fair likelihood that that is not correct, and in fact the government acted in bad faith throughout that day.”

Boasberg, the chief federal judge in Washington, said he will “determine if I have found that probable cause exists to believe that contempt has occurred and if so, how we will proceed from there.”

The case is the highest-profile fight between President Donald Trump’s administration and a judge weighing one of more than 190 lawsuits that seek to slow his agenda. Trump has asked the Supreme Court to let his administration resume deporting alleged gang members without hearings. He’s also called for Boasberg’s impeachment, prompting a rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

On March 15, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The law was previously used only in the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. By citing the law, Trump bypassed immigration law and claimed the gang was effectively an extension of the Venezuelan government engaged in an invasion or “predatory incursion.”

Boasberg put the removals on hold that day over concerns about due process, triggering a battle over the president’s authority to invoke the law. The Supreme Court is weighing a government request to allow the stalled deportations to resume.

Judges can find federal agency officials or their lawyers in contempt of court, and fine them, for defying a judge’s orders. They can impose financial sanctions on federal agencies for failure to comply. And in extreme cases, they can jail officials for contempt.

Read more: What Happens If Trump Defies a Judge’s Order?: QuickTake

At Thursday’s hearing, Boasberg questioned Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign about how government officials acted on March 15. Just after midnight, five Venezuelans sued in anticipation of Trump using the Alien Enemies Act. That morning, Boasberg temporarily barred deportation of those five. At 3:53 pm, Trump made the proclamation public. By then, the US prepared to fly more than 200 people on three planes from southern Texas.

Boasberg had a second hearing that day, ordering Ensign to tell immigration officials to immediately turn around any flights. But two flights proceeded anyway, despite the judge taking a break so that Ensign could convey his order to Justice Department and immigration officials.

“You’re telling me that you had no knowledge whatsoever between 5 and 6 pm on that day that planes were in the air or shortly would be in the air?” Boasberg asked.

“Your honor, I had no knowledge from my client,” Ensign said.

Boasberg also pressed Ensign for the names of everybody he communicated with about his order that day. Ensign named seven Justice Department or immigration officials who may have learned of the judge’s order.

Justice Department lawyers have previously said they didn’t have to comply with Boasberg’s oral order on March 15 because he soon issued a written order that didn’t direct the planes to turn around.

The judge said there’s a “good chance” he’ll hold hearings to determine who he might cite for contempt.

“I would not expect to issue this opinion before next week,” Boasberg said.

The case is J.G.G. v. Trump, 25-cv-766, US District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

(Updates with details from the hearing.)

To contact the reporter on this story:
David Voreacos in New York at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Elizabeth Wasserman, Peter Blumberg

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