Chicago – March 17, 2025
A federal judge ordered the U.S. Justice Department to provide a sworn statement by Tuesday at noon about how planes carrying alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang were allowed to leave the country, despite his order to stop the deportations.
The case revolves around whether the U.S. government followed Judge James Boasberg’s temporary restraining order, which was issued on Saturday. The order told the government to stop deporting people under the Trump-era Alien Enemies Act, and to turn around any planes already in the air.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Democracy Forward argued that the deportations should be stopped, and the judge’s oral order on Saturday evening should have been followed. While the Justice Department said that the deportations were already in progress when the order came, civil rights lawyers said that the judge gave an oral order between 6:45 p.m. and 6:48 p.m., which should carry the same weight as a written order.
The plaintiffs presented FlightAware data showing that two planes were still in the air after the judge’s written order at 7:26 p.m., and another plane took off later that evening. The dispute centers on whether verbal orders are as legally binding as written ones.
