‘Criminal contempt’: US judge slams Trump administration for deporting Venezuelans despite court order

Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrive at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela

A US federal judge stated on Wednesday he had discovered “probable cause” to carry President Donald Trump’s administration in “criminal contempt” for deporting alleged members of Venezuelan gangs to El Salvador, despite the judge issuing a brief restraining order to halt the deportations.
In a written opinion, district judge James Boasberg cited “evidence” of the federal authorities partaking in a “deliberate or reckless disregard” by continuing with the flights despite the restraining order, information company AFP reported.
Boasberg wrote, “Defendants provided no convincing reason to avoid the conclusion which appears obvious, that they deliberately flouted this court’s written order and, separately, its oral command which explicitly delineated what compliance entailed.”
The judge added, “The administration’s actions were sufficient to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt.”
However, Boasberg provided a last probability to the Trump administration to “purge such contempt” or face additional court motion.
The judge had issued a brief restraining order on March 15 to pause the deportations, carried out beneath the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The obscure wartime regulation strips away the standard authorized due course of.
White House plans ‘rapid’ attraction
The White House stated it will file an “immediate” attraction to the choice by the district judge.
“We plan to seek immediate appellate relief. The president is 100 per cent committed to ensuring that terrorists and criminal illegal migrants are no longer a threat to Americans and their communities across the country,” White House communications director Steven Cheung stated in an announcement after the ruling.
The Alien Enemies Act had solely been used beforehand in the course of the War of 1812, World War I and World War II; Trump stated he was concentrating on “transnational gangs” he had declared international terrorist organizations.
These included the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua, however attorneys for a number of of the deported Venezuelans denied their purchasers have been gang members, and acknowledged that they had dedicated no crimes and have been focused largely “on the basis of their tattoos.”