A federal judge said Thursday that President Donald Trump has expanded his continued legal battle with the judiciary after the Trump administration missed a court deadline to disclose details of deportation flights to El Salvador.
US District Judge James Boasberg said the government's lawyers were not in time for the deadline set for submitting information about the government's deportation flights, including whether they intentionally ignored his court order, including whether they had targeted immediate removal under the Alien Enemy Act of 1798.
In a furious order sent Thursday evening, the judge said the government would “against that obligation and submit information about the flight.” The submissions they submitted were hours late and were unable to answer his questions.
Instead, the court said it had been sent a six-paragraph declaration by the local ice office director in Harlingen, Texas. [act] Privilege over other facts required by court order. ”
Who is James Boasberg, a US judge at the heart of Trump's deportation efforts?
President Donald Trump, left, US District Judge James Boasberg. (Applications/Getty Images)
“This is seriously inadequate,” he said.
On Saturday, Boasberg had granted an emergency control order that used the 1798 law to block the enforcement of Venezuelan citizens, including members of the Gang Trende Ragua, for 14 days. He also ordered a flight in the air to return to US soil soon.
However, hours later, a plane arrived in El Salvador carrying hundreds of US immigrants, including Venezuelan citizens, who were removed under the laws in question.
President Donald Trump and US District Judge James Boasberg. (Getty Images)
Boasberg immediately ordered the government to submit more information to court as part of a “fact-finding hearing” to determine whether the Trump administration intentionally denied his orders and how many people were deported.
After the government repeatedly failed to comply with the issue of national security, he told them by noon Thursday they could do so under seal.
Boasberg had asked government lawyers to submit information on the number of planes departing the United States on Saturday. People submitted that they had been deported “only” to people based on the basis of that declaration, the number of individuals on each plane, and where each plane took off from the US and left.
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Pam Bondy, speaks before he is sworn in as attorney general for the White House's Oval Office in Washington, D.C. on February 5th. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“To begin, the government cannot prove to local ice officials a cabinet-level argument of state secret privilege.[ing]”,” he said.
Boasberg then ordered the Trump administration by March 25 to submit a brief explaining why he did not violate his orders by failing to return the individual in question on two early planes that arrived in the US from El Salvador on March 15.
“Until March 21, 2025, at 10am, the defendant shall submit a declaration of oath by anyone directly involved in a Cabinet-level discussion regarding the invocation of privileges of state secret,” he added.
Boasberg had previously warned the Trump administration about the consequences if he violated his orders.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Still, later that night, at least one plane with exiled migrants landed in El Salvador. “Oopsie, too late,” Salvador President Naive Buquere said in a post on X.
Since then, government lawyers have refused to share information about deportation flights in court, and have refused whether the migrant plane (or plane) deliberately departed the US soil after the judge cited national security protections and ordered the judge not to do so.
