The Justice Department told U.S. District Judge James Boasberg that it has provided all the information it intends to share regarding the March deportation flights to El Salvador and said that if he finds the response insufficient, he should move forward with the criminal contempt proceedings he has threatened. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said under oath that she ordered the flights to continue despite what Boasberg viewed as a clear directive to halt them. Senior lawyers from Homeland Security and the Justice Department acknowledged advising her but refused to disclose their counsel. DOJ attorney Tiberius Davis argued that the judge’s orders were not clear and that Noem did not intentionally defy the court. He said that if Boasberg disagrees, he should issue a referral for criminal contempt rather than compel testimony from Noem.
The dispute centers on three flights carrying Venezuelan migrants identified as members of Tren de Aragua, along with Salvadorans, which departed on March 15. The administration said two planes were already in international airspace and that the migrants on board had legally been removed from the United States before the judge issued his order. A third plane departed afterward, but the Justice Department said the individuals on that flight were deported under standard immigration law and were not covered by Boasberg’s ruling. Although the Supreme Court later determined Boasberg lacked jurisdiction over the flights, he has insisted that ruling does not resolve questions about whether his orders were deliberately ignored.
Those concerns grew after former DOJ lawyer Erez Reuveni claimed he witnessed senior officials discussing disregarding any judge who attempted to stop the flights, specifically naming Emil Bove—then a senior DOJ official and now a 3rd Circuit judge. Lawyers for the migrants want both Bove and Reuveni compelled to testify. Boasberg said he is weighing whether to require live testimony or written declarations, starting with statements from those directly involved in the decision-making process, including Noem and the attorneys who advised her.