Central America

Masked ICE arrest is unconstitutional, federal judge finds

A West Virginia federal judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration violated an El Salvadoran man’s rights when masked federal agents arrested him and then kept him in custody without a bond hearing, according to a story by Law360. Describing the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts as an “assault on the…

Feb 24, 2026 9:45 AM CST

DC Circuit vacates judge’s order to hold US in contempt for ignoring TRO blocking immigrant removals

A federal appeals court has vacated an order by a Washington, D.C., federal judge that found probable cause to hold the federal government in criminal contempt for violating his order blocking the removal of a group of immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act.

Aug 12, 2025 9:28 AM CDT

Abrego Garcia is back in US, but government stonewalling merits contempt inquiry, court filing says

Lawyers for a mistakenly deported Maryland immigrant are asking a federal judge to pursue contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for “an elaborate, all-of-government effort to defy court orders” in the case seeking his return—even though the Salvadoran man is back in the United States.

Jun 9, 2025 12:14 PM CDT

DOJ lawyer blames ‘confluence of administrative errors’ for another El Salvador deportation

A U.S. Department of Justice lawyer last week blamed “a confluence of administrative errors” for the deportation of an immigrant from El Salvador in Central America, despite a federal appeals court order allowing him to remain in the United States during litigation.

Jun 2, 2025 10:26 AM CDT

Can judge order US to ask El Salvador for migrant’s release? 4th Circuit says yes, return can’t be done ‘telepathically’

A federal appeals court has refused to block a federal judge’s order requiring the U.S. government to “facilitate” a 20-year-old migrant’s return to the United States from a prison in El Salvador in Central America.

May 21, 2025 3:42 PM CDT

Judge orders US to maintain custody of migrants possibly sent to Africa, says US violated his order

Updated: A federal judge in Boston said Wednesday the Trump administration "unquestionably" violated his preliminary injunction requiring meaningful notice before removals to third countries when it deported eight men to a country that the United States refused to identify.

May 21, 2025 11:11 AM CDT

Insurance case is ‘but a speck in the recesses of interstellar space,’ high-profile appeals judge writes

In a span of less than a week, a conservative federal appeals judge has written two opinions that are getting attention—for taking a tough stand against the mistaken deportation of an immigrant in one case and for waxing philosophical in another case.

Apr 28, 2025 3:07 PM CDT

AARP says it’s not part of challenge to El Salvador deportations, despite case caption

The AARP—formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons—has intervened in a lawsuit filed on behalf of immigrant detainees because of concerns about the case caption.

Apr 23, 2025 2:19 PM CDT

Supreme Court’s late-night order barring deportation was ‘extraordinary in many ways;’ what did Alito say?

The U.S. Supreme Court acted quickly after the American Civil Liberties Union filed an emergency application Friday evening that sought to block what appeared to be the imminent deportation of its clients.

Apr 21, 2025 9:44 AM CDT

Appeals court excoriates Trump administration in illegal deportation case

In a legal battle with escalating tensions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on Thursday excoriated the Trump administration for its defiance of a federal judge’s orders that it show how it is facilitating the return of Kilmar Abrego García, a Maryland man who was illegally deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

Apr 18, 2025 10:27 AM CDT

Judge finds probable cause to hold US in contempt; is Trump administration ‘at the cusp of outright defiance’?

A federal judge who banned the Trump administration from removing Venezuelan immigrants from the United States ruled Wednesday that there is probable cause to find the government in criminal contempt for willfully disobeying his directive.

Apr 16, 2025 3:53 PM CDT

Barrett joins liberal dissent questioning SCOTUS venue decision that ends case before judge deemed ‘lunatic’ by Trump

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted a temporary restraining order that banned the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, ruling that the legal challenge should have been filed in Texas, rather than Washington, D.C.

Apr 8, 2025 11:52 AM CDT

DOJ opposes court-ordered return of immigrant, suspends lawyer who said he shouldn’t have been deported

Updated: The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a federal judge’s order to return an immigrant mistakenly sent to a prison in El Salvador in Central America—a move that followed the department’s decision to place one of its lawyers on indefinite leave, apparently for his admissions in the case.

Apr 7, 2025 2:23 PM CDT

Trump administration invokes state secrets privilege for deportation flights, disputes Nazi analogy

Government lawyers are arguing that the state secrets privilege protects the Trump administration from divulging details about deportation flights to El Salvador in Central America, and that the Venezuelans aboard weren’t entitled to notice that would give them time for a hearing.

Mar 25, 2025 11:02 AM CDT

Meet the federal judge labeled ‘radical left lunatic’ by Trump, derided by DOJ for ‘micromanaged’ request

A federal judge facing President Donald Trump’s ire because of his rulings on deportation authority was once a housemate with Brett Kavanaugh, a future U.S. Supreme Court justice, at Yale Law School.

Mar 20, 2025 8:50 AM CDT