DOJ Reveals Kristi Noem Made Final Decision to Defy Judge's Order on El Salvador Deportation Flights

On November 26, 2025, the Department of Justice disclosed in a court filing that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the final decision to proceed with deportation flights to El Salvador despite U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s explicit order on March 15 to turn the planes around. This revelation came after the Trump administration refused for 255 days to identify who authorized defying the federal court order.

The March 15, 2025 incident involved two planes carrying over 100 Venezuelan men whom the administration alleged were members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Judge Boasberg issued both oral and written orders blocking the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime authority the administration invoked to deport individuals “with little-to-no due process.” Despite these clear orders, the flights proceeded to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison.

According to the DOJ filing, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and then-Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove provided legal advice through DHS acting General Counsel Joseph Mazzara. After receiving this legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the detainees who had been removed from the United States before the court’s order could be transferred to El Salvador’s custody. The DOJ argued this decision was “lawful” and “consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Court’s order,” claiming the written injunction had no bearing on individuals already deported.

In April 2025, Judge Boasberg found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt, stating the government’s actions “demonstrate a willful disregard” for his order and that “probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt.” He emphasized that “The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders—especially by officials of a coordinate branch.” A larger appellate panel later underscored that “Judicial orders are not suggestions; they are binding commands.”

The November 26 filing came as Judge Boasberg resumed his criminal contempt inquiry to determine which Trump administration officials were responsible for flouting his orders. He announced plans to hear testimony from at least nine current or former officials, including Emil Bove. The government has until December 5, 2025 to submit declarations from all officials involved in the March decision. If the DOJ declines to prosecute the case, Boasberg indicated he will appoint someone to do so, with officials potentially facing fines and jail time.

The Venezuelan men were sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security mega-prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, built as part of President Nayib Bukele’s gang crackdown. In November 2025, Human Rights Watch released a comprehensive report titled “You Have Arrived in Hell” documenting systematic torture and abuse at CECOT. The investigation found that cases of torture and ill-treatment were not isolated incidents but systematic violations, with every former detainee interviewed reporting serious physical and psychological abuse on a near-daily basis. Three people held in CECOT reported being subjected to sexual violence.

CECOT prisoners are held in windowless cells furnished only with bare metal bunks devoid of mattresses, with each cell equipped with just two sinks and two toilets for dozens of inmates. Prisoners reportedly leave their cells for only 30 minutes per day, with some held in completely dark solitary confinement cells. The Salvadoran government denies human rights groups access to the prison and allows only highly controlled visits by journalists and social media influencers. Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro stated that those sent to CECOT would “only be able to leave in a coffin.”

Many of the Venezuelan deportees were held on what PBS News described as “flimsy, even frivolous” gang allegations and lacked opportunity to challenge their designations. The migrants languished in CECOT for several months before being released in summer 2025 as part of a prisoner swap with Venezuela, after Judge Boasberg ruled in June that the administration must allow migrants to contest their deportations.

Legal experts and human rights organizations expressed grave concerns about the constitutional implications. Former UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture member Miguel Sarre described CECOT as a “concrete and steel pit” used to “dispose of people without formally applying the death penalty.” Federal contracting expert Charles Tiefer has called for investigations by the DHS inspector general and House Oversight Committee into the administration’s pattern of defying court orders.

The case represents an unprecedented confrontation between the executive and judicial branches, with a Cabinet secretary now identified as having personally authorized defiance of a federal court order. The outcome of the criminal contempt proceedings could establish critical precedent for whether senior Trump administration officials can be held criminally accountable for willfully disregarding judicial authority. It also raises profound questions about the administration’s invocation of an 18th-century wartime law to send individuals to facilities documented as engaging in systematic torture, sexual abuse, and human rights violations.