Appeals Court Blocks Contempt Case Over Trump Deportation Flights

A U.S. appeals court blocked District Judge James Boasberg from pursuing criminal-contempt proceedings against the Trump administration over two March 2025 deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, ruling the judge’s order was not explicit and would be intrusive into high-level deliberations; the 2-1 decision, authored by Judge Neomi Rao and joined by Judge Justin Walker, was along party lines, highlighting the ongoing clash over the use of the Alien Enemies Act in deportations and the March 2025 operation involving 137 Venezuelans.