Alien Enemies Act and CECOT

Updated2026-11-09 Covers2025-01 to 2026-11-06

Summary

In March 2025 Trump used the Alien Enemies Act (AEA)⁵¹. It is a 1798 law that lets the President detain or remove citizens of a country the U.S. is at war with or that has invaded it. Trump used it against Venezuelan men whom the administration called members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.¹ The administration flew the men to CECOT, El Salvador’s maximum-security prison, under a $4.76 million deal.² Judge James Boasberg ordered the flights stopped, but the planes were not turned around.¹ Boasberg then found probable cause, meaning good reason to believe, that the administration was in criminal contempt. Criminal contempt is the crime of disobeying a court order.³ A higher court, the D.C. Circuit, has cancelled or paused his inquiry three times.⁴ Boasberg later ruled that the removals violated due process, the fair legal steps the government owes a person before taking away their liberty.⁵ Separately, Judge Waverly Crenshaw threw out criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident. He found the charges were vindictive, meaning they were brought to punish Abrego Garcia.⁶ A Justice Department (DOJ) lawyer had admitted in court that Abrego Garcia “should not have been removed” to El Salvador.¹³ As of Nov 8, 2026, none of the 137 men ordered returned is reported to have come back.⁷ The appeals over the contempt inquiry and the return order are still undecided.⁸,⁹

Background

The AEA lets a president remove citizens of an enemy nation during a declared war or an “invasion or predatory incursion.”¹⁰ Secretary of State Marco Rubio named TdA, MS-13 and six Mexico-based cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). He signed the designations on Feb 6, 2025. They took effect when they were printed in the Federal Register, the government’s official daily record, on Feb 20 (90 FR 10030).¹¹ The Mar 15 proclamation was a formal public announcement by the President. It claimed that TdA was invading the U.S. together with Venezuela’s government.¹

Solicitor General D. John Sauer argues the government’s cases in the Supreme Court. Under him, the administration filed 28 emergency requests with the Supreme Court in eight months.¹² It lost two. Both were immigration cases in this story: the AEA removals and Abrego Garcia’s return (Jan–Sept 22, 2025).¹²

What happened

The invocation and the CECOT flights

Under the Mar 14, 2025 deal, El Salvador would jail up to 300 men for $4.76 million. None of the money could pay for the men’s lawyers.² On Mar 15 Trump invoked the AEA, and 261 people were flown to CECOT.¹ They included 238 men said to be Tren de Aragua members. Of those, 137 were removed under the AEA.¹,⁷ Judge James Boasberg ordered the flights turned around. They were not turned around, and they landed in El Salvador.¹ He gave the order on the evening of Mar 15 (7:26 p.m., according to a government filing cited by NPR).⁷⁴ Abrego Garcia was sent to CECOT the same day (see Kilmar Abrego Garcia below).¹⁴

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem filmed a video at CECOT (Mar 26).¹⁵ On Mar 31 the U.S. flew 17 more men said to be TdA and MS-13 members to CECOT. On Mar 28 Judge Murphy of the federal court in Massachusetts (D. Mass.) had issued a temporary restraining order. That is a short-term court order that stops something while a judge looks at the case. His order said people must get a “meaningful opportunity” to raise torture claims before being sent to a third country.¹⁶ Trump proposed sending U.S. citizens to CECOT (Apr 15).²⁰ Reason reported a Cato Institute finding that at least 50 of the deportees had entered the U.S. legally (May 21).²³ On July 18 the 252 Venezuelans held at CECOT were sent to Venezuela. They were traded for 10 U.S. citizens and permanent residents who had been detained.²⁷ The State Department’s 2024 human-rights report (Aug 12, 2025) said there were “no credible reports of significant human rights abuses” in El Salvador.³⁸ The administration also pointed to TdA in other actions. It named the gang when it announced the first Caribbean boat strike (Sept 2, 2025; Caribbean Boat Strikes).³⁹ It named the gang when it described a Sept 30, 2025 raid on a Chicago apartment building (City Enforcement Operations and Fatal Shootings).⁴⁰ During the 2025 naval buildup, it accused Venezuela’s leaders of heading the “Cartel de los Soles” (Venezuela and the Maduro Capture).⁴¹

Rulings on the invocation

On Apr 7 the Supreme Court, voting 5-4 in Trump v. J.G.G.⁵², cancelled Boasberg’s order.¹⁷ Habeas corpus is a court’s power to order the government to justify holding someone. The Court said each person must get their own notice and a chance to seek habeas review before removal.¹⁷ On Apr 19 the Supreme Court blocked new AEA removals from northern Texas. On May 16 it said 24 hours’ notice “surely does not pass muster.” In other words, that much warning was not enough.²² J.G.G. said challenges must be filed as habeas cases in the district where each person is held. So district courts then ruled one case at a time. Between May 1 and June 9 four judges ruled against the invocation. Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. of the federal court in southern Texas (S.D. Tex.) was one. The proclamation “exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful,” he held.⁶⁰ Judges Alvin Hellerstein (S.D.N.Y., southern New York), Charlotte Sweeney (D. Colo., Colorado) and David Briones (W.D. Tex., western Texas) barred removals under it for people held in their districts.⁶⁶,⁶⁷,⁶⁹ On May 13 Judge Stephanie Haines (W.D. Pa., western Pennsylvania, a Trump appointee) upheld the invocation. The AP said this was apparently the first time a federal judge had done so. She required at least 21 days’ notice in English and Spanish.⁶⁸

On May 13, 2025 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired the acting heads of the National Intelligence Council (NIC). They had approved a report that cast doubt on the claimed link between TdA and Venezuela’s government. She moved the NIC under the direct control of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). She said this was needed to prevent “politicization.”²⁴ On Aug 13, 2026 the full Fifth Circuit appeals court dismissed W.M.M. v. Trump⁵⁶, the main AEA challenge. It called the case moot, meaning it no longer mattered because the situation had changed. The court did not decide whether the invocation was lawful.¹⁰

Due-process ruling and return order

Boasberg ruled that the removals violated due process (Dec 22, 2025).⁵ He then ordered the government to help bring back the 137 men (Feb 12, 2026). They had been sent to Venezuela in the July 2025 exchange.⁷,²⁷ A panel of D.C. Circuit judges heard the government’s appeal of the return orders (Sept 25, 2026).⁸

The contempt inquiry and the courts

On Apr 16, 2025 Boasberg found probable cause to hold the administration in criminal contempt.³ DOJ sued all 15 judges of Maryland’s federal court over a standing order. That order paused removals of people who had filed habeas cases.²⁶ Judge Thomas Cullen dismissed the suit.⁷⁰ A divided D.C. Circuit panel cancelled the contempt finding (Aug 8).³¹ A spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) pointed to impeachment articles filed against Boasberg (Nov 18).³² Mike Davis of the Article III Project called for Boasberg’s impeachment in a Fox opinion piece (Dec 13).³³ Boasberg restarted the inquiry after government filings named Noem as the official who decided to continue the flights.³⁴ The D.C. Circuit paused it again (Dec 12).³⁵

On Apr 14, 2026 a D.C. Circuit panel ruled 2–1 against the inquiry. Judges Rao and Walker were in the majority, and Judge Childs disagreed. The panel issued a second writ of mandamus. That is an order from a higher court telling a lower-court judge to do or stop doing something. It ordered Boasberg to “terminate” his contempt inquiry. The panel said his temporary restraining order “did not clearly and specifically bar the government from transferring plaintiffs.” So, it said, the order “cannot support criminal contempt.”⁶¹,⁴ The full D.C. Circuit heard arguments on the contempt inquiry (Sept 29).⁹

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the Reuveni disclosure

A 2019 order by an immigration judge had barred sending this Maryland resident to El Salvador. He was sent to CECOT on Mar 15, 2025.¹⁴ Whistleblower Erez Reuveni later described a DOJ meeting held the day before the court blocked the flights. He said Emil Bove, then Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, spoke at that meeting. Reuveni said Bove told the group DOJ might have to tell courts “f— you.” He said Bove also said “the planes needed to take off no matter what.” Bove said he did not recall the remark.²⁵ On Apr 10 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Noem v. Abrego Garcia. It said the government must “facilitate”⁵³ Abrego Garcia’s return, meaning help bring it about.¹⁸ For about two months the administration told Judge Paula Xinis and the Supreme Court that it could not do so.¹⁸,¹⁹ DOJ fired lawyer Erez Reuveni (Apr 11). He had admitted in court that Abrego Garcia “should not have been removed.”¹³

Abrego Garcia was brought back on June 6. He returned to face a human-smuggling indictment, which is a formal criminal charge approved by a grand jury. The charge was based on a 2022 traffic stop.¹⁹ Reuveni’s whistleblower complaint became public on June 24. The Senate confirmed Bove as a judge on the Third Circuit appeals court by a vote of 50–49.²⁵ Abrego Garcia was let out of jail on Aug 22.²⁸ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him again on Aug 25.⁷² His lawyers were told he would be deported to Uganda unless he pleaded guilty. If he pleaded guilty, he could go to Costa Rica.⁷¹ The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later named Eswatini, Ghana and Liberia as places to send him.⁷²,²⁹ Judge Waverly Crenshaw found a “realistic likelihood” of vindictive prosecution (Oct 3). That means charging someone to punish them for using their legal rights.³⁰ Judge Paula Xinis ordered him released on Dec 11.²⁹ She found there was no valid removal order. She said DOJ lawyers and an ICE witness had “misled” the court.²⁹

An inspector general is an independent watchdog inside an agency who looks into waste and wrongdoing. Reuveni told Congress that DOJ’s Inspector General did not investigate his complaint about Bove. Instead, the Inspector General passed it to DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (Mar 30, 2026).³⁷ Crenshaw dismissed Abrego Garcia’s charges as vindictive (May 22, 2026). He pointed to public statements by Todd Blanche, who was then Deputy Attorney General.⁶

The J.O.P. settlement class

On Apr 23, 2025 Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the federal court in Maryland (D. Md.) ruled on a man called “Cristian,” who had been sent to El Salvador. She ordered DHS to help bring him back. He belonged to the group protected by the Nov 25, 2024 J.O.P. v. DHS settlement⁵⁵. A settlement is an agreement that ends a lawsuit without a ruling. This one bars removing people who came to the U.S. as children without a parent until U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rules on their asylum claims. Gallagher held that this protected group, or class, includes people targeted under the AEA.⁵⁰ On Jul 29, 2026 Gallagher found the government in civil contempt, meaning it had disobeyed the court. She said removals had been carried out in “ignorance or disregard” of who was in the class. She ordered record checks before any removal. She also ordered monthly nationwide guidance to ICE staff and a search for class members who had been removed.⁵⁰,⁶³ On Sept 25 she found contempt again. This time it was for removing class member “E.L.A.” to El Salvador. His lawyers say he was deported in March, returned in August and deported again Sept 1. She ordered him brought back and his property returned.⁵⁰,⁶⁴ On Oct 8 (made public Oct 14) she found that DHS had “violated” the settlement. DHS had opposed, or refused to join, class members’ requests to close or end their immigration cases. She ordered DHS to join such requests or not oppose them. She also barred DHS from asking to reopen closed cases on the court calendar.⁵⁰,⁶⁵

Press coverage

MSNBC chose not to air a White House briefing on the Abrego Garcia case. Carr, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), then posted about it. He wrote that Comcast “knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest. News distortion doesn’t cut it” (Apr 16, 2025).²¹ CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss pulled the 60 Minutes report “Inside CECOT” (Dec 21).³⁶

Key dates

• 2025-03-14 — United States–El Salvador CECOT agreement — → ledger
• 2025-03-15 — AEA invoked; 261 people flown to CECOT — → ledger
• 2025-04-07 — Trump v. J.G.G. vacates Boasberg’s order — → ledger
• 2025-04-10 — Supreme Court orders Abrego Garcia’s return facilitated — → ledger
• 2025-04-16 — Boasberg finds probable cause of contempt — → ledger
• 2025-04-19 — Supreme Court blocks AEA removals from northern Texas — → ledger
• 2025-05-01 — Rodriguez (S.D. Tex.) holds the AEA invocation unlawful — → ledger
• 2025-05-13 — Haines (W.D. Pa.) upholds the invocation — → ledger
• 2025-06-06 — Abrego Garcia returned and indicted — → ledger
• 2025-07-18 — Prisoner exchange sends 252 to Venezuela — → ledger
• 2025-08-25 — ICE re-detains Abrego Garcia — → ledger
• 2025-12-22 — Removals ruled a due-process violation — → ledger
• 2026-02-12 — Return of 137 men ordered — → ledger
• 2026-04-14 — D.C. Circuit orders contempt inquiry ended — → ledger
• 2026-05-22 — Abrego Garcia charges dismissed — → ledger
• 2026-07-29 — Civil contempt for removing J.O.P. class members — → ledger
• 2026-08-13 — Fifth Circuit dismisses W.M.M. as moot — → ledger
• 2026-09-29 — En banc D.C. Circuit hears contempt argument — → ledger

Why it matters

Scope of the Alien Enemies Act (50 U.S.C. §21). The AEA applies only during a declared war or an “invasion or predatory incursion” by a foreign nation or government. The Mar 15 proclamation tied a gang’s activity to Venezuela’s government. The legal question is whether that activity meets the law’s condition.¹,¹⁰ District judges split in May and June 2025. Four ruled against the invocation. One upheld it but required 21 days’ notice.⁶⁰,⁶⁸ Judge Briones wrote that “a president cannot unilaterally define what constitutes an invasion.” “Unilaterally” means on his own.⁶⁹ In September 2025 a Fifth Circuit panel held 2–1 that no invasion or predatory incursion had occurred. The administration asked the full court to hear the case again. The full court (sitting “en banc”) dismissed it as moot on Aug 13, 2026. It did not rule on the main legal question. The Supreme Court’s order barring AEA removals from northern Texas is still in place.¹⁰,²² The NIC report that questioned the TdA–Venezuela link bears on the facts the proclamation relied on. The people who led the NIC when it approved that report were removed.²⁴

Due process and habeas (Fifth Amendment; Suspension Clause, Art. I §9 cl. 2). The Constitution says no one may lose their liberty without due process, meaning fair legal steps. That rule is in the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause⁵⁷. The Suspension Clause (Art. I, §9, cl. 2)⁵⁸ protects habeas corpus by limiting when it may be set aside. Together these rules decide what notice and hearing a person must get before removal. In Trump v. J.G.G. (Apr 7, 2025) the Supreme Court required each person to get notice and habeas review.¹⁷ In A.A.R.P. v. Trump (May 16, 2025)⁵⁴ it held that 24 hours’ notice “surely does not pass muster.”²² Boasberg held (Dec 22, 2025) that the men had a right to a “meaningful opportunity” to challenge being labeled gang members.⁵ He ordered them returned (Feb 12, 2026).⁷ DOJ lawyer Tiberius Davis argues the government’s side. He says the U.S. “does not have sole custody” of the men. So, he argues, the U.S. cannot be ordered to bring them back or give them hearings. Judge Harry Edwards spoke at the Sept 25, 2026 hearing. He said a century of court rulings gives people facing removal from inside the U.S. a right to due process.⁸ For Abrego Garcia, two decisions control. One is the 2019 order that barred his removal to El Salvador.¹⁴ The other is the Supreme Court’s unanimous “facilitate” ruling.¹⁸ In December 2025 Xinis found that ICE was holding him without a valid removal order.²⁹

Compliance with court orders (criminal contempt, 18 U.S.C. §401). A federal law gives courts the power to punish people who disobey their orders. That law is 18 U.S.C. §401⁵⁹. This power is the tool for testing whether the March 15 flights broke Boasberg’s order. Government filings said Noem decided to continue the transfers on DOJ’s advice.³⁴ DOJ’s Brett Shumate told the full D.C. Circuit that the inquiry is “unlawful, unnecessary and futile.” He said only a prosecutor can investigate.⁹ The D.C. Circuit has cancelled or paused the inquiry three times (Aug 8 and Dec 12, 2025; Apr 14, 2026).³¹,³⁵,⁴ It has not ruled since the full court heard arguments on Sept 29, 2026.⁹ To get a writ of mandamus, a party must show a “clear and indisputable” right to it (Cheney v. U.S. District Court, 2004)⁶². In April, Rao wrote that the inquiry “intrudes upon the Executive in a manner for which mandamus is the only adequate remedy,” and Childs disagreed. Childs would have found that the government had not shown it had a right to the writ.⁶¹ Reuveni’s claim about Bove goes to the same question. The DOJ Inspector General sent it to the Office of Professional Responsibility without investigating.²⁵,³⁷ Sauer told the Supreme Court that the administration does not see itself as always bound by past rulings of lower courts. He said it would follow the Supreme Court’s rulings.¹² In J.O.P., Judge Gallagher held the government in civil contempt twice in 2026. Both times it was for removing class members protected by the 2024 settlement.⁵⁰ Judge Cullen dismissed DOJ’s suit against Maryland’s judges. He wrote that “a lawsuit by the executive branch of government against the judicial branch for the exercise of judicial power is not ordinary.”⁷⁰

Vindictive prosecution (Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause). The Due Process Clause bars charging someone to punish them for using their legal rights. Crenshaw found that vindictiveness could be presumed, and he dismissed the charges. He found the government “would not have brought this prosecution” if Abrego Garcia had not sued.⁶ DOJ has appealed to the Sixth Circuit. Its brief argues that Blanche’s statements reflected a “normal assessment of the societal interest in punishment.”⁴⁵

Outcome

Where things stand

There have been no AEA removals since the Supreme Court’s orders in spring 2025.²² The full Fifth Circuit dismissed W.M.M. as moot on Aug 13, 2026, so no court has made a final ruling on whether the invocation was lawful. The Supreme Court’s order blocking removals stays in place.¹⁰ In total, 137 men were removed under the AEA. Later, 252 CECOT detainees were sent to Venezuela.⁷,²⁷ No official has been held in contempt in Boasberg’s inquiry. The full D.C. Circuit had not ruled as of Nov 8.⁹ Abrego Garcia is still free.⁴⁶

No consequence for Noem related to the flights is recorded. She was fired as Homeland Security Secretary on Mar 5, 2026 over other matters.⁴⁷ Bove sits on the Third Circuit.³⁷ Blanche was nominated Attorney General on June 8, 2026. The Senate confirmed him 50–49 on Aug 8, 2026.⁴²,⁴³ Stephen Miller was named chief of staff on Nov 6, 2026, starting Nov 9.⁴⁴ Some things are still unknown. One is whether any deportee comes back under the Feb 2026 order. Another is whether E.L.A. comes back under the Sept 25, 2026 J.O.P. order. Courts have not yet ruled in the D.C. Circuit appeals on the return order and the contempt inquiry. They also have not ruled in the Sixth Circuit appeal or the Liberia dispute.

Status

Who is affected

This story affects several groups. Venezuelan men were removed under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to CECOT, El Salvador’s maximum-security prison. A judge later held that their removals violated due process.¹,⁵ Other detainees could be named under the proclamation, but court orders have barred more removals.²² Kilmar Abrego Garcia was removed, prosecuted and detained again.²⁹ People protected by the J.O.P. v. DHS settlement were removed in ways a judge found broke it.⁵⁰ The Justice Department sued the judges of one federal court.²⁶ Intelligence officials, a Justice Department lawyer and 60 Minutes journalists faced firings and a pulled broadcast.²⁴,¹³,³⁶

• Venezuelan men removed under the AEA (removals of Mar 15, 2025; return order Pending) — 137 of the 238 alleged Tren de Aragua members among the 261 people flown to CECOT that day.¹ Judge James Boasberg ruled on Dec 22, 2025 that the removals violated due process.⁵ On Feb 12, 2026 he ordered the men’s return. None had been reported returned as of Nov 8, 2026.⁷
• CECOT detainees (sent to Venezuela Jul 18, 2025; return of the 137 Pending) — the 252 Venezuelans held at CECOT were sent to Venezuela in exchange for 10 detained U.S. citizens and permanent residents.²⁷ In a May 21, 2025 report, Reason cited a Cato Institute finding that at least 50 of the deportees had entered the U.S. legally.²³
• Detainees facing AEA designation (AEA removals, Blocked) — the Supreme Court blocked new removals from northern Texas on Apr 19, 2025. On May 16 it held that 24 hours’ notice “surely does not pass muster.” No AEA removals have happened since.²² Between May 1 and June 9, 2025 four district judges barred removals under the proclamation in their districts.⁶⁰,⁶⁶,⁶⁷,⁶⁹ A fifth judge upheld it with 21 days’ notice.⁶⁸
• Kilmar Abrego Garcia, removal and prosecution (removal of Mar 15, 2025; prosecution Pending) — he was sent to CECOT even though a 2019 order barred his removal to El Salvador.¹⁴ A Justice Department lawyer later admitted in court that he “should not have been removed.”¹³ On Apr 10, 2025 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the government must “facilitate” his return.¹⁸ He was brought back on June 6 to face a human-smuggling indictment.¹⁹ Judge Waverly Crenshaw dismissed it as vindictive on May 22, 2026.⁶ The Justice Department’s Sixth Circuit brief argues that Todd Blanche’s statements reflected a “normal assessment of the societal interest in punishment.”⁴⁵
• Kilmar Abrego Garcia, detention (re-detention, Blocked) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him again on Aug 25, 2025.⁷² Judge Paula Xinis ordered him released on Dec 11, finding no valid removal order. She said Justice Department lawyers and an ICE witness had “misled” the court.²⁹ A Feb 17, 2026 ruling bars ICE from detaining him again.⁷³ The request to remove him to Liberia is Pending.⁴⁶
• J.O.P. class members (removals of protected class members, Pending) — Judge Stephanie Gallagher ordered the return of “Cristian” on Apr 23, 2025, and later held the government in civil contempt twice. The findings came on Jul 29 and Sept 25, 2026, the second for removing “E.L.A.” (his lawyers say he was deported twice). On Oct 8, 2026 she found that the Department of Homeland Security had “violated” the settlement. It had opposed or refused to join class members’ requests to close or end their immigration cases.⁵⁰,⁶³,⁶⁴,⁶⁵
• Maryland’s federal judges (Justice Department suit, Concluded) — the Justice Department sued all 15 judges of the court over a standing order. The order paused removals of people who had filed habeas cases.²⁶ Judge Thomas Cullen dismissed the suit on Aug 26, 2025.⁷⁰
• National Intelligence Council leadership (firings, In force) — on May 13, 2025 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired the council’s acting heads. They had approved a report that cast doubt on the claimed link between Tren de Aragua and Venezuela’s government. She moved the council under her direct control. She said this was needed to prevent “politicization.”²⁴
• Erez Reuveni (firing; complaint Unresolved) — the Justice Department fired the lawyer on Apr 11, 2025, after he admitted in court that Abrego Garcia “should not have been removed.”¹³ In January 2026 the Inspector General sent his complaint about Emil Bove to the Office of Professional Responsibility without investigating it.³⁷
• 60 Minutes journalists (“Inside CECOT” broadcast, Concluded) — CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss pulled the segment on Dec 21, 2025. It aired about a month later with small changes. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract ran out, and Scott Pelley was fired.³⁶,⁴⁸

Key players

• Donald Trump — President — invoked the AEA.¹
• Nayib Bukele — El Salvador’s president — agreed to jail up to 300 deportees for $4.76 million.²
• Kristi Noem — Homeland Security Secretary — named in government filings as the one who decided to continue the flights.³⁴
• James Boasberg — Chief Judge, federal court in Washington, D.C. (D.D.C.) — ordered the flights turned around; found probable cause of contempt.¹,³
• Emil Bove — DOJ official, now Third Circuit judge — Reuveni says he said DOJ might tell courts “f— you”; Bove said he did not recall it.²⁵
• Erez Reuveni — DOJ lawyer — admitted in court that Abrego Garcia “should not have been removed”; fired; whistleblower.¹³,²⁵
• Kilmar Abrego Garcia — Maryland resident — removed to El Salvador although a 2019 order barred it; brought back; prosecuted; charges dismissed.¹⁴,¹⁹,²⁹
• Paula Xinis, Waverly Crenshaw — judges — ordered him released; dismissed the charges.²⁹,⁶
• Todd Blanche — Deputy Attorney General, then Attorney General — his public statements were cited in the ruling that the charges were vindictive.⁶,⁴³
• Tulsi Gabbard — Director of National Intelligence — fired the acting NIC heads who approved the TdA assessment.²⁴
• Bari Weiss — CBS News editor-in-chief — pulled “Inside CECOT.”⁴⁹,³⁶

Related: Conflicts Between the Executive and the Courts, Justice Department and FBI Personnel Changes, Prosecutions and Investigations of Trump Critics and FCC Actions and Press Access.

Chronology

• 2025-01 to 09-22 — Emergency-docket strategy — → ledger
• 2025-02-20 — Cartel FTO designations take effect — → ledger
• 2025-03-14 — US–El Salvador CECOT agreement — → ledger
• 2025-03-15 — AEA invoked; 261 flown to CECOT — → ledger
• 2025-03-15 — Abrego Garcia removed to El Salvador — → ledger
• 2025-03-17 — Boasberg TRO (issued Mar 15); planes land — → ledger
• 2025-03-26 — Noem CECOT video — → ledger
• 2025-03-31 — 17 more sent after Murphy TRO — → ledger
• 2025-04-07 — Trump v. J.G.G. — → ledger
• 2025-04-10 — Noem v. Abrego Garcia — → ledger
• 2025-04-11 — Reuveni fired — → ledger
• 2025-04-15 — “Homegrowns” to CECOT — → ledger
• 2025-04-16 — Carr post on Comcast — → ledger
• 2025-04-16 — Boasberg contempt finding — → ledger
• 2025-04-19 — A.A.R.P. v. Trump — → ledger
• 2025-04-23 — J.O.P. order to facilitate “Cristian’s” return — → ledger
• 2025-05-01 — Rodriguez holds the AEA invocation unlawful — → ledger
• 2025-05-06 — Hellerstein enjoins AEA removals (S.D.N.Y.) — → ledger
• 2025-05-06 — Sweeney blocks AEA removals (D. Colo.) — → ledger
• 2025-05-13 — Haines upholds the invocation with 21 days’ notice — → ledger
• 2025-05-13 — Gabbard fires NIC heads — → ledger
• 2025-05-21 — 50 deportees entered legally — → ledger
• 2025-06-06 — Abrego Garcia returned and indicted — → ledger
• 2025-06-09 — Briones holds the AEA invocation unlawful (W.D. Tex.) — → ledger
• 2025-06-24 — Reuveni whistleblower; Bove confirmed — → ledger
• 2025-06-24 — DOJ sues Maryland bench — → ledger
• 2025-07-18 — Prisoner swap frees 252 — → ledger
• 2025-08-12 — Human-rights reports shortened — → ledger
• 2025-08-14 — Caribbean naval buildup begins; “Cartel de los Soles” claim — → ledger
• 2025-08-22 — Abrego Garcia released from jail in Tennessee — → ledger
• 2025-08-23 — Uganda named unless he pleads guilty — → ledger
• 2025-08-25 — ICE re-detains Abrego Garcia — → ledger
• 2025-08-26 — Cullen dismisses DOJ suit against Maryland judges — → ledger
• 2025-09-02 — First boat strike — → ledger
• 2025-09-30 — Chicago South Shore raid — → ledger
• 2025-10-03 — Vindictive-prosecution finding — → ledger
• 2025-10-06 — Weiss installed at CBS News — → ledger
• 2025-11-18 — FTC spokesman cites Boasberg impeachment articles — → ledger
• 2025-12-11 — Xinis frees Abrego Garcia — → ledger
• 2025-12-13 — Davis op-ed on Boasberg impeachment — → ledger
• 2025-12-21 — “Inside CECOT” pulled — → ledger
• 2025-12-22 — AEA removals violated due process — → ledger
• 2026-02-12 — Return of deportees ordered — → ledger
• 2026-02-17 — Xinis bars ICE from re-detaining Abrego Garcia — → ledger
• 2026-03-05 — Noem fired as DHS Secretary — → ledger
• 2026-03-30 — IG declined Reuveni’s Bove complaint — → ledger
• 2026-04-14 — D.C. Circuit’s second mandamus writ ends Boasberg contempt inquiry — → ledger
• 2026-05-22 — Abrego Garcia charges dismissed — → ledger
• 2026-06-02 — CBS fires Pelley — → ledger
• 2026-06-08 — Blanche nominated AG — → ledger
• 2026-07-15 — Blanche AG confirmation hearing — → ledger
• 2026-07-29 — Gallagher holds the government in civil contempt over J.O.P. removals — → ledger
• 2026-08-08 — Blanche confirmed AG 50–49 — → ledger
• 2026-08-13 — Fifth Circuit dismisses W.M.M. as moot — → ledger
• 2026-09-25 — D.C. Circuit hears return-order appeal — → ledger
• 2026-09-25 — Second J.O.P. contempt finding; “E.L.A.” ordered returned — → ledger
• 2026-09-29 — En banc contempt argument — → ledger
• 2026-10-06 — Liberia removal hearing canceled — → ledger
• 2026-10-08 — Gallagher finds DHS violated the J.O.P. settlement — → ledger
• 2026-11-06 — Miller named chief of staff — → ledger

Sources