The US Department of Justice has said that Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, made the decision to continue deportation flights of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador in March, despite a federal judge's directive that the flights be returned to the United States.
In a court filing on Tuesday, the justice department stated that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove provided legal advice to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the court's order. After receiving that advice, Secretary Noem directed that the detainees who had been removed before the order could be transferred to El Salvador's custody.
The filing came as US District Judge James Boasberg resumed his inquiry into whether the Trump administration violated his March orders to halt the deportation flights. The administration had invoked the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport roughly 250 alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador's Cecot mega-prison.
The justice department argued that its actions did not violate the court's order, stating that the written order did not require the return of detainees who had already been removed, and the earlier oral directive was not a binding injunction. The flights were not turned around as the White House insisted the detainees were no longer in US territory when the order came down.
The Venezuelan nationals were later repatriated to Venezuela in July under a deal between the US and Venezuelan governments.
