'Essentially told the Court to pound sand': Judge makes Trump admin pay for 'defiance' with airfare to US for 'third country' deportees who 'desire' return

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate the return from third countries" of Alien Enemies Act deportees who "desire" to come back to the United States as habeas cases proceed, putting the government on the hook for the costs of any flights.

Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, a thorn in the side of the DOJ, in multiple instances Thursday chided the Trump administration for its "defiance" of a court order, the "flagrancy" of its due process violations, and the "solution-less mire" it presented on the issue of habeas hearings for individuals subject to President Donald Trump's Alien Enemies Act proclamation last March.

The case, J.G.G. v. Trump, established that 137 Venezuelan men were deported to El Salvador and elsewhere despite Boasberg's order on March 15 blocking the flights. It's why the judge has tried to push criminal contempt proceedings forward for months, to elicit testimony that could answer whether his order was "willfully" violated.

From the opening lines of his seven-page order, it was clear Boasberg hasn't forgotten.

"On December 22, 2025, this Court issued a Memorandum Opinion finding that the Government had denied due process to a class of Venezuelans it deported to El Salvador last March in defiance of this Court's Order," he wrote. "The Court offered the Government the opportunity to propose steps that would facilitate hearings for the class members on their habeas corpus claims so that they could 'challenge their designations under the [Alien Enemies Act] and the validity of the [President's] Proclamation.'"

Seeing the DOJ as "apparently not interested in participating in this process" and as having "essentially told the Court to pound sand," the judge decided to order the Trump administration to act. Specifically, to facilitate the returns to the U.S. of people deported to "third countries," countries where they are not citizens — if those individuals "so desire" to attend hearings.

"[The court] will also permit other Plaintiffs to file their habeas supplements from abroad," the judge added.

Earlier in the case, the DOJ cited the U.S.'s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to face a "narco-terrorism conspiracy" indictment as a complicating factor for coming up with "remedies" to move hearings forward. When Trump designated Tren de Aragua a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the gang was described as "Nicolas Maduro regime-sponsored."

After the government sought and received an extension, it resisted holding remote hearings and said it preferred returning deportees to the U.S. without paying for the travel.

Now Boasberg has responded by holding the government's "violations" against it and making it pay for the airfare of however many individuals might be flown back from third countries, though he noted "we are not talking about a substantial number of people."

"[T]he Court deems that a reasonable request. It is unclear why Plaintiffs should bear the financial cost of their return in such an instance," he said, while "emphasizing that this situation would never have arisen had the Government simply afforded Plaintiffs their constitutional rights before initially deporting them."

In any event, once returned to the U.S., the deportees would be taken into custody. The same would be true for those who "wish to travel independently" to a U.S. port of entry.

Cognizant of the U.S. operation in Venezuela, and "treading lightly, as [he] must, in the area of foreign affairs," Boasberg declined to order the Trump administration to facilitate the return of "deportees remaining in Venezuela."

Nonetheless, the judge allowed deportees in third countries or Venezuela to file documents challenging their Alien Enemies Act designations and their alleged Tren de Aragua memberships.

"Whether hearings will be required and the logistics of such hearings may be determined at a future date," he said.