The second US judge raised the threat Tuesday night that some Trump officials could be detained in court light emptying after failing to answer questions in an ongoing deportation case.
Maryland District Judge Paula Sinis merged Trump officials for failing to comply with court requests in cases that included the deportation of Kilmer Armando Abrego Garcia.
She further described the Department of Justice’s “false premise” objection as “a intentional, malicious refusal to comply with the obligation to discover.”
Xinis is not the first federal judge to increase the likelihood of the Trump administration being lightly empty for failing to comply with court orders. A courthouse in Washington, D.C., just 15 miles away, another judge had already threatened the same thing.
Federal Judge James Boasberg has found a possible cause to condemn Trump over deportation
Demonstrators will gather at a nationwide “Hands Off!” Protests against Boston President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on April 5, 2025 (Joseph Presioso via Getty/AFP)
In both cases, President Donald Trump used the alien enemy law. This is a wartime immigration law that the administration summoned last month, and will soon deport certain individuals from the United States to El Salvador.
A few hours after the declaration on March 14th, he used the law to expel certain immigrants (including gangsters MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, or TDA members), the United States sent over 260 immigrants to El Salvador and was detained in the country’s largest security prison.
The next few weeks have been characterized by a wave of desperate court cases, appeals, and emergency Supreme Court orders as judges across the country consider the administration’s use of wartime law.
Who is James Boasberg, a US judge at the heart of Trump’s deportation efforts?
US District Judge James E. Boasberg stands for portraits of the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Court in Washington, DC (The Washington Post via Carolyn Van Houten/Getty Images).
However, Trump’s lawyers did not appear to be willing to share certain information with the court. Their actions sparked rage from federal judges who had acted maliciously and deliberately denounced their orders on multiple occasions.
Xinis said the administration refused to respond to at least one questioning Tuesday night, and their refusal was based on the false premise that the United States was ordered to promote release of Abrego Garcia from custody.”
She also accused officials of failing to comply with previous orders to return Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man and MS-13 member who was illegally deported to El Salvador last month. “For weeks, the defendants have been seeking evacuation behind vague, unfounded claims of privilege, and will use them as shields to interfere with discovery and avoid compliance with this court order,” she said.
Her previous ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court in an emergency order. The ruling said the government must “promote” his release. This is a definition that has since been clarified again by the judges of the Xinis and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Promote” is an active verb,” said Reagan appointee J. Harvey Wilkinson III, who wrote the Circuit Court’s opinion.
“It is necessary that the Supreme Court has made it completely clear and take action,” he added.
Trump administrators oppose Maryland’s deportation courts and set fire to a legal showdown
Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewite, File)
At last week’s hearing, Sinis ordered a “tough” two-week discovery period to determine whether the Trump administration acted in good faith to comply with the order to return Abrego Garcia. If they fail to provide the necessary information, or if they demonstrated that they had acted maliciously, she may have enough information to move to consider possible light empt procedures.
Additionally, in a related case, US District Judge James Boasberg said there was a possibility of finding Trump administration officials on March 15 on a criminal cont crime that violated the order to return deportation flights to El Salvador.
In a 48-page ruling, Boasberg accused the government of “deliberately ignoring” the court’s order, and identified officials who missed the deadline and submitted flight details, knowing that the emergency order would stop the withdrawal. The Federal Court of Appeals in DC suspended the light empty procedure, but Boasberg demanded further declarations and warned that he could be required to testify under oath.
If they fail to comply, the judge may refer the case to the Department of Justice or appoint an outside counsel if the DOJ refuses.
Judge Boasberg believes Trump’s administrators are lightly emptying.
A gang member seen in a cell at the Centre of Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) in Tecolca in San Vicente, El Salvador. Photo via Getty Images. (Alex Pena/Anadoru via Getty Images)
The Court of Appeal, which suspended Boasberg’s light empty procedure, did so temporarily and requested additional briefings from both the Department of Justice and ACLU attorneys representing the plaintiffs.
What will happen next remains uncertain. Trump officials have repeatedly sought help with what is called “activist judges” and accused the court of obstructing the administration’s immigration agenda. In previous emergency appeals, authorities argued that Boasberg’s actions amounted to “a massive and unauthorized imposed on enforcement agencies that eliminate dangerous aliens,” and that those individuals “pose a threat to the American people.”
Meanwhile, Judge Sinis’ order in Maryland comes amid a surge in immigration-related legal battles across the country as Trump pushes border security priorities.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration could continue to use alien enemy laws to deport immigrants if it received due process protections, including the right to challenge rescue in court.
Click to get the Fox News app
Separately, federal judges in New York and Texas are with the plaintiffs who have temporarily blocked the use of alien enemies in certain cases and argued that certain immigrants could be ruled out without the opportunity to seek popular relief.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for Fox News Digital’s comment on the next step in the Abrego Garcia case, or the next step regarding the possibility that Xinis could go on to a contemptful proceeding.
Breanne Deppisch is a national political reporter for Fox News Digital, covering the Trump administration, focusing on the Department of Justice, the FBI and other national news.
Source link
