A federal judge ruled Wednesday that there is probable cause to pursue criminal charges against senior Trump officials for ignoring a court order that blocked deportations under a rarely used 18th-century law.
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said Trump officials violated his injunction by using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants without due process. He warned that if they don’t bring those individuals back or cooperate with contempt proceedings, he may take a step rarely seen in modern courts—appoint an independent prosecutor.
Boasberg’s 46-page opinion left no doubt about the seriousness of the situation.
“The court does not reach such conclusions lightly or hastily,” he wrote. “Indeed, it has given defendants ample opportunity to explain their actions. None of their responses have been satisfactory.”
The judge also made clear he won’t tolerate efforts by Trump’s team to stall or block the legal process. If the Justice Department refuses to prosecute those responsible, Boasberg said, he’ll do it himself by appointing a special prosecutor.
The case centers on the Trump administration’s controversial use of the Alien Enemies Act—a wartime law from the 1700s—to deport Venezuelan men accused of gang ties. Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order last month blocking the deportations and demanding that flights already in motion be recalled.
That didn’t happen.
Instead, the administration let the planes continue, then claimed Boasberg’s instruction to recall them was only spoken, not written in the final order. Government lawyers also argued that by the time the judge acted, the planes were already out of U.S. airspace and beyond his reach.
Boasberg rejected all of it.
He wrote that under the collateral-bar rule, defendants can’t ignore a court order just because they believe it’s illegal. “If Defendants believed – correctly or not – that the Order encroached upon the President’s Article II powers, they had two options: they could seek judicial review of the injunction but not disobey it, or they could disobey it but forfeit any right to raise their legal argument as a defense.”
On the claim that his order didn’t apply outside the U.S., Boasberg was blunt. He said courts regularly hold U.S. officials accountable for actions abroad, especially when constitutional rights are at stake. “That courts can enjoin US officials’ overseas conduct simply reflects the fact that an injunction … binds the enjoined parties wherever they might be; the ‘situs of the [violation], whether within or without the United States, is of no importance,’” he wrote.
The administration also tried to keep key flight information secret, invoking the state secrets doctrine. Boasberg wasn’t convinced. “The Court is skeptical that such information rises to the level of a state secret,” he wrote. “As noted, the Government has widely publicized details of the flights through social media and official announcements thereby revealing snippets of the information the Court seeks.”
This ruling isn’t the only legal blow to the Trump administration over deportations. Just one day earlier, another federal judge, Paula Xinis, forced the administration to explain whether it complied with a Supreme Court order in the wrongful deportation of a man to El Salvador. Xinis ordered the government to answer questions in writing and under oath.
Together, the rulings send a strong signal: federal judges are ready to hold top Trump officials personally accountable for ignoring the law. And Boasberg is making it clear—if they won’t follow court orders, they may soon be facing criminal charges.
