Judge makes Trump admin pay for 'defiance' with airfare to US for 'third country' deportees who 'desire' return
Last edited Thu Feb 12, 2026, 04:57 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Law & Crime
Feb 12th, 2026, 2:23 pm
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate the return from third countries" of Alien Enemies Act deportees who "desire" to come back to the United States as habeas cases proceed, putting the government on the hook for the costs of any flights.
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, a thorn in the side of the DOJ, in multiple instances Thursday chided the Trump administration for its "defiance" of a court order, the "flagrancy" of its due process violations, and the "solution-less mire" it presented on the issue of habeas hearings for individuals subject to President Donald Trump's Alien Enemies Act proclamation last March.
The case, J.G.G. v. Trump, established that 137 Venezuelan men were deported to El Salvador and elsewhere despite Boasberg's order on March 15 blocking the flights. It's why the judge has tried to push criminal contempt proceedings forward for months, to elicit testimony that could answer whether his order was "willfully" violated. From the opening lines of his seven-page order, it was clear Boasberg hasn't forgotten.
"On December 22, 2025, this Court issued a Memorandum Opinion finding that the Government had denied due process to a class of Venezuelans it deported to El Salvador last March in defiance of this Court's Order," he wrote. "The Court offered the Government the opportunity to propose steps that would facilitate hearings for the class members on their habeas corpus claims so that they could 'challenge their designations under the [Alien Enemies Act] and the validity of the [President's] Proclamation.'" Seeing the DOJ as "apparently not interested in participating in this process" and as having "essentially told the Court to pound sand," the judge decided to order the Trump administration to act.
Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/essentially-told-the-court-to-pound-sand-judge-makes-trump-admin-pay-for-defiance-with-airfare-to-us-for-third-country-deportees-who-desire-return/
Full headline: 'Essentially told the Court to pound sand': Judge makes Trump admin pay for 'defiance' with airfare to US for 'third country' deportees who 'desire' return
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278436/gov.uscourts.dcd.278436.247.0_4.pdf
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