In a significant legal development, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., has mandated that the Trump administration arrange and finance the return of deportees under the Alien Enemies Act who wish to re-enter the United States. This directive comes as part of ongoing habeas corpus proceedings. Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued this order, highlighting the administration’s obligation to cover travel costs for these individuals.

Throughout the proceedings, Judge Boasberg has consistently criticized the Trump administration for its repeated defiance of court orders, its blatant disregard for due process, and its inability to present viable solutions regarding habeas corpus hearings. These hearings concern those affected by President Trump’s Alien Enemies Act proclamation issued in March. The case, known as J.G.G. v. Trump, reveals that 137 Venezuelan men were deported to El Salvador and other countries despite an existing court order from March 15 preventing such actions.

The judge has been persistent in pushing for criminal contempt proceedings, aiming to uncover whether the administration willfully violated his directive. His recent seven-page order underscores his unwavering stance on the matter.

In his written decision, Judge Boasberg pointedly remarked on the government’s failure to comply with a memorandum issued on December 22, 2025. This document concluded that the administration had denied due process to a group of Venezuelans deported contrary to the court’s instruction. The court had previously offered the government a chance to propose measures for conducting hearings for these individuals, allowing them to contest their classification under the Alien Enemies Act and the validity of the President’s proclamation.

However, with the Department of Justice showing little interest in engaging with the court’s process and effectively dismissing its authority, Judge Boasberg has taken decisive action. He ordered the administration to facilitate the return of deported individuals from third countries, where they are not citizens, should they choose to attend the hearings.

Seeing the DOJ as “apparently not interested in participating in this process” and as having “essentially told the Court to pound sand,” the judge decided to order the Trump administration to act. Specifically, to facilitate the returns to the U.S. of people deported to “third countries,” countries where they are not citizens — if those individuals “so desire” to attend hearings.

“[The court] will also permit other Plaintiffs to file their habeas supplements from abroad,” the judge added.

Earlier in the case, the DOJ cited the U.S.’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to face a “narco-terrorism conspiracy” indictment as a complicating factor for coming up with “remedies” to move hearings forward. When Trump designated Tren de Aragua a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the gang was described as “Nicolas Maduro regime-sponsored.”

After the government sought and received an extension, it resisted holding remote hearings and said it preferred returning deportees to the U.S. without paying for the travel.

Now Boasberg has responded by holding the government’s “violations” against it and making it pay for the airfare of however many individuals might be flown back from third countries, though he noted “we are not talking about a substantial number of people.”

“[T]he Court deems that a reasonable request. It is unclear why Plaintiffs should bear the financial cost of their return in such an instance,” he said, while “emphasizing that this situation would never have arisen had the Government simply afforded Plaintiffs their constitutional rights before initially deporting them.”

In any event, once returned to the U.S., the deportees would be taken into custody. The same would be true for those who “wish to travel independently” to a U.S. port of entry.

Cognizant of the U.S. operation in Venezuela, and “treading lightly, as [he] must, in the area of foreign affairs,” Boasberg declined to order the Trump administration to facilitate the return of “deportees remaining in Venezuela.”

Nonetheless, the judge allowed deportees in third countries or Venezuela to file documents challenging their Alien Enemies Act designations and their alleged Tren de Aragua memberships.

“Whether hearings will be required and the logistics of such hearings may be determined at a future date,” he said.