(NewsNation) — A court filing from the Department of Justice revealed Tuesday that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the decision to continue sending detained Venezuelan migrants to a mega-prison in El Salvador in March, despite court orders halting their removal.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has resumed his criminal contempt inquiry into which Trump administration officials ignored his orders temporarily halting the deportations last spring.
According to the Justice Department filing, Noem made the call to allow two already-departed flights “carrying individuals designated under the Alien Enemies Act” to continue. The filing notes Noem had received legal advice from Justice Department and Homeland Security officials before making the decision.
“After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the Court’s order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador,” the filing reads. “That decision was lawful and was consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Court’s order.”
The Justice Department argued the legal advice Noem was given “did not violate the Court’s order, much less constitute contempt.”
Initially, Boasberg’s inquiry was halted for months after an appeals court issued an emergency stay.
El Salvador’s famed mega-prison, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT, is known for its abusive treatment of prisoners. The migrants on the flights in question went on to be held at the prison for months before being released over the summer as part of a prisoner swap with Venezuela, according to CNN.
“I certainly intend to find out what happened on that day,” Boasberg said in a hearing last week.