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On Monday, the judge said it was still “premature” to recommend prosecuting Secretary Noem. But he made clear he wasn’t backing off. Instead, he ordered two senior DOJ attorneys, both of whom were involved in the deportation mission, to appear for live testimony next week. One of those attorneys has since been fired for refusing to go along with certain decisions inside the administration.
Politico summarized the judge’s latest move this way:
“James Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, said Monday that it’s ‘premature’ to recommend criminal prosecution of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who revealed last month that she gave the order to turn over the men to Salvadoran authorities on the advice of administration lawyers.
Boasberg is now demanding that two of the top Justice Department lawyers involved in the March deportation operation — including one who has since been fired for resisting some of the administration’s moves — appear for questioning next week.”
This aggressive push from the bench comes shortly after a federal appeals court lifted a temporary freeze on Boasberg’s contempt inquiry. With the green light restored, the judge is charging forward — forcing Trump-era officials back into the legal crosshairs.
The dispute dates back to March, when Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump Administration from deporting thousands of Venezuelan nationals believed to be part of the brutal Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang. These individuals were slated for removal under the Alien Enemies Act — a rarely used but entirely lawful tool designed to protect the United States from foreign threats.
In April, the Supreme Court overturned Boasberg’s order in a brief unsigned decision. The ruling wiped out his attempt to halt the deportations, stating plainly that he lacked jurisdiction. The justices did require the administration to provide reasonable notice before future removals, but the message to Boasberg was unmistakable: he had overstepped.
Despite the Supreme Court’s clear rebuke, Boasberg continued escalating. He accused the Trump team of failing to return some of the world’s most violent criminals — including murderers and rapists — back into U.S. custody simply to obey his directive. The judge claimed he found probable cause to hold the administration in criminal contempt for not turning around planes that had already transported gang members out of the country.
In a lengthy 46-page opinion, Boasberg accused the administration of “willful defiance” and argued that their actions amounted to criminal contempt of court. And he went even further — threatening to appoint an outside prosecutor if the administration itself refused to bring criminal charges.
The move signals a stunning development: a federal judge threatening criminal prosecution against a former president’s administration for deporting dangerous foreign nationals, even after the Supreme Court told him he didn’t have the authority to block the removals in the first place.
With testimony set for next week and Boasberg showing no signs of stepping back, this judicial showdown is far from over. Conservatives argue the judge is targeting Trump officials not because of lawbreaking — but because they enforced the law too effectively.
One thing is certain: this fight just escalated, and the political ramifications are only getting started.
