A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it deported 137 Venezuelan men to El Salvador earlier this year, despite an active court order requiring they remain in U.S. custody.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg concluded that the March deportations violated due process and were carried out in direct defiance of judicial instructions. The men were transferred to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, a high-security facility widely known for harsh detention conditions tied to anti-terror operations.
Although the group was later returned to Venezuela through a U.S.-brokered prisoner exchange, Boasberg ruled that this does not erase the constitutional violations. According to the judge, the men were denied the legal protections guaranteed under U.S. law at the time of their removal and must now be given meaningful due process — even if that process occurs while they remain outside the United States.
However, Boasberg stopped short of ordering the Trump administration to immediately bring the men back to U.S. soil. Instead, he allowed the administration two weeks to propose a lawful mechanism for providing the required legal relief from abroad.
A central issue in the ruling was the role of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whom Boasberg found appeared to have advance knowledge that the deportees would be sent to CECOT. The judge cited public statements, social media videos filmed at the prison, and remarks in which Noem described the facility as part of the administration’s immigration enforcement “toolkit.”
“These statements significantly weaken the government’s claim that El Salvador exercised full independent control over the detainees,” Boasberg wrote, questioning how U.S. officials could allegedly predict or ensure placement in CECOT if they truly lacked influence over El Salvador’s decisions.
The judge also pointed to Noem’s recent acknowledgment that she personally approved the transfer — even after being informed that the court had barred the handoff. That admission, Boasberg said, further supports the conclusion that the deportations were knowingly carried out in violation of judicial authority.
The ruling adds to growing legal scrutiny surrounding the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely invoked law that President Donald Trump quietly relied upon to label the men as terrorists. Boasberg found that the rapid deportation operation appeared intentionally designed to prevent judicial review.
“They were removed from the country while this Court was actively conducting an emergency hearing,” Boasberg wrote. “That sequence raises serious constitutional concerns.”
The decision also references testimony from Erez Reuveni, a former Justice Department attorney turned whistleblower, who described internal discussions suggesting that senior officials were prepared to disregard court intervention altogether. Reuveni alleged that Emil Bove — now a federal appeals court judge — used profane language indicating hostility toward judicial oversight. Bove later denied recalling such remarks and stated he never instructed anyone to defy court orders.
Notably, Boasberg’s ruling comes shortly after an appeals court panel temporarily paused his efforts to pursue possible contempt proceedings against administration officials, highlighting ongoing tension between the judiciary and the executive branch over immigration enforcement.
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