Appeals Court Tosses Judge Boasberg’s Contempt Ruling Against Trump Over El Salvador Deportations

(Mark Schiefelbein/Carolyn Van Houten/Washington Post/AP photos)

An appeals court has dropped a contempt ruling levied against President Donald Trump and White House officials over the deportation flights out of the United States.

The ruling by federal judge James Boasberg — a frequent target of Trump’s ire — came as migrant flights to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison continued, despite the judge ordering a halt.

Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, both Trump appointees, agreed that Boasberg went above his authority when he issued the contempt order, according to the Associated Press.

The third judge on the panel, Obama appointee Cornelia Pillard, dissented.

In April, Boasberg issued an opinion finding probable cause to hold Trump administration officials in contempt of the court for not complying with his ruling a month earlier to turn the planes around.

“On the evening of Saturday, March 15, 2025, this Court issued a written Temporary Restraining Order barring the Government from transferring certain individuals into foreign custody pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act,” Boasberg wrote in his opinion. “At the time the Order issued, those individuals were on planes being flown overseas, having been spirited out of the United States by the Government before they could vindicate their due-process rights by contesting their removability in a federal court, as the law requires.”