The Department of Justice on Tuesday insisted that it hadn’t violated a federal judge’s order to halt certain deportation flights but that rather the two planes technically left U.S. airspace before a written version of the order was issued.
The DOJ still avoided detailing whether the flights left after the judge had already verbally ordered the administration to halt the rushed deportations.
James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the federal court in the District of Columbia, had given the DOJ until noon on Tuesday to come up with answers — upping the stakes by demanding a government official issue a sworn declaration.
That declaration, filed fewer than five minutes before deadline, came from Robert L. Cerna — described as the acting field office director of enforcement and removal at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s southern Texas operations in Harlingen.
Cerna declared that “three planes carrying aliens departed the United States for El Salvador International Airport” but that two of them “departed U.S. territory and airspace before 7:25 PM EDT.” Video released by the Salvadoran government, showing the detainees being aggressively physically restrained by guards, had raised questions because they showed prisoners being transported at night — even though the sun currently sets over the Central American nation around 6 p.m. local time, or about 8 p.m. in Washington.
The exact timing of those events is crucial, because Boasberg had verbally ordered any flights to turn around when he spoke in court on Saturday at 6:46 p.m. ET, according to ABC. The case was filed in writing in the docket at 7:25 p.m.
Tuesday’s sworn declaration from the administration also sought to undermine the judge’s issuance of a temporary restraining order by effectively creating a legal loophole. Boasberg had barred the Trump administration from deporting anyone under the authority of a wartime executive power, but ICE countered that the men were also being removed subject to other laws.
“To avoid any doubt, no one on any flight departing the United States after 7:25 PM EDT on March 15, 2025, was removed solely on the basis of the proclamation at issue,” Cerna wrote.
The quickly escalating situation threatens a constitutional crisis. President Donald Trump is testing the bounds of judicial authority, fixed on his own forceful crackdown on immigrants, expansive use of executive power and general hostility toward court orders that could restrain him.
It all began late last week, when armed officers arrested several men they accused of being members of the notorious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, which the federal government recently designated a “foreign terrorist organization.” On Friday, Trump signed an executive order meant to rapidly deport those men that cited, for only the fourth time in American history, the Alien Enemies Act — a wartime measure last used to justify the forceful internment of Japanese people during World War Two.
Shortly after the executive order was made public on Saturday, lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union sued to block the administration’s plans to rapidly remove these men to El Salvador’s high security prison, where human rights researchers have documented the violent treatment of inmates. Boasberg issued his order that afternoon from the bench, then put it in writing within the hour.
The DOJ has since refused to budge, appealing to have the D.C. Circuit remove the case from Boasberg or avoid the trial court judge altogether. Government lawyers asked Boasberg to cancel a follow-up hearing on Monday, claiming that “these orders are an affront to the president’s broad constitutional and statutory authority to protect the United States from dangerous aliens who pose grave threats to the American people.” Boasberg denied that request but got few responses in court from DOJ lawyer Abhishek Kambli, a political hire who was recently made a deputy associate attorney general.
The DOJ dug in its heels on Tuesday, stating in a court filing that it would refuse to provide further details about the flights — even under seal.
“The government maintains that there is no justification to order the provision of additional information, and that doing so would be inappropriate,” DOJ officials argued, claiming that the Venezuelans couldn’t be “removed” from the United States because they were already outside of U.S. airspace.
Department officials also repeated their argument that “the court’s earlier oral statements were not independently enforceable as injunctions.” The court filing was signed by yet another recent DOJ hire, Drew Ensign, who is the deputy assistant attorney general on immigration litigation. However, it listed all of the department’s top brass, including AG Pam Bondi, deputy AG Todd Blanche, and principal associate deputy AG Emil Bove.
As they did over the weekend, DOJ officials claimed in court that revealing exact details about the flight path and departure times would threaten national security — even though independent researchers have already publicly tracked those flights.
“The government should not be required to disclose sensitive information bearing on national security and foreign relations … especially given that this information is neither material nor time sensitive,” officials claimed, pointing to its ongoing appeal to a higher court.
Boasberg is set to review these issues in court on Friday. But in answering the judge’s request for more information, the Trump administration hinted that there are many others that could face similar deportations in the near future.
ICE revealed in Tuesday’s declaration that it is currently tracking another 258 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang, dozens of whom are already in detention in one form or another. “Should they be transferred to ICE custody, they will likely be placed in removal proceedings,” Cerna declared.
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Jose Pagliery is a reporter at NOTUS.