DC Circuit Tosses Judge’s Contempt Order Against Trump Officials in Deportation Flights Case
Washington, August 8, 2025 – A divided D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel has overturned a contempt finding by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg against Trump administration officials for defying his order to halt deportation flights to El Salvador. The 2-1 ruling, issued Friday, vacates Boasberg’s April determination that there was probable cause to hold the administration in criminal contempt for failing to turn around two planes carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members on March 15, 2025.
The case stems from President Donald Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport 137 alleged Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) during an emergency hearing, verbally directing that any planes in the air be returned to the U.S. to allow deportees due process. The planes landed in El Salvador hours later, with President Nayib Bukele announcing their arrival on X, stating, “Oopsie…too late.” Boasberg’s 46-page opinion accused the administration of “willful disregard,” citing boasts, including a retweet by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as evidence of deliberate defiance.
The D.C. Circuit majority, led by Trump-appointed Judges Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas, ruled that Boasberg abused his authority by pursuing contempt proceedings after the Supreme Court vacated his TRO on April 7, 2025, on procedural grounds. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision allowed deportations under the Act but required due process, noting the case should have been filed in Texas, where detainees were held, not D.C. Rao argued the contempt order was “especially egregious” as it targeted senior officials and intruded on the president’s foreign affairs powers. Katsas called it an “improper use of the contempt power,” arguing it sought to enforce a legally defective order.
Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, dissented, asserting that officials “appear to have disobeyed” Boasberg’s order, and willful defiance should be punishable as criminal contempt to uphold judicial authority. She emphasized that the administration’s actions undermined the courts’ role in checking executive power.
Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the ruling as a “major victory” for Trump’s deportation agenda, stating on X that Boasberg’s order was a “failed judicial overreach.” The Justice Department had filed a misconduct complaint against Boasberg in July, alleging improper comments at a Judicial Conference predicting Trump would defy court orders, a move critics called retaliatory.
The underlying litigation continues, with 252 of the CECOT detainees repatriated to Venezuela by July, though many seek return to the U.S., having fled the Maduro regime. The ACLU and Democracy Forward, representing the deportees, argue the administration’s actions denied due process, a concern echoed in a separate case involving the mistaken deportation of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The ruling marks a significant win for the Trump administration, which faces over 190 legal challenges to its policies. It underscores ongoing tensions between the judiciary and executive, with some on X celebrating the decision as a rebuke to “activist judges,” while others warn it emboldens disregard for court orders. The case returns to the district court, but the contempt issue is closed, shifting focus to broader questions of due process and executive power.