A full federal appeals court on Sept. 29 heard arguments on whether to allow a criminal-contempt inquiry into officials who carried out March 15, 2025 deportation flights to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. The inquiry, led by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, seeks to identify who authorized the expedited removals after he issued a temporary restraining order blocking the operation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is reviewing a divided three-judge panel’s earlier decision to halt the investigation, which Boasberg argues is necessary to determine whether court orders were violated. The government contends the flights had already departed U.S. airspace and that the Supreme Court later vacated Boasberg’s orders, rendering the contempt probe an unlawful intrusion into executive authority.
Who is involved
The case centers on former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whom the Trump administration has identified as the official who made the final decision to proceed with the removals. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Venezuelan men deported under the rarely used 1798 statute, which grants presidents broad authority to detain and remove noncitizens. The deportees were later transferred to Venezuela via a prisoner swap arranged by the Trump administration.
Legal arguments
Attorneys for the deportees argue that officials willfully defied a court order, while government lawyers assert that the contempt inquiry oversteps judicial bounds by probing internal executive branch deliberations. During the hearing, judges questioned whether there was sufficient cause to continue the investigation, with one noting that Boasberg did not want to refer a case if no responsible party could be identified.
The full appeals court took the unusual step of rehearing the case en banc after the divided panel blocked the inquiry in April. In August, roughly 200 former judges filed an amicus brief urging the court to allow the investigation to proceed.
Background and timeline
Boasberg ruled in March 2025 that the government appeared to have acted in bad faith by rushing the deportations while emergency proceedings were underway. The Supreme Court later vacated his orders, but the contempt inquiry remains pending. The appeals court’s decision could determine whether the probe continues and who, if anyone, is held accountable.