Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has confirmed that she authorized federal officials to continue deporting Venezuelan detainees to El Salvador, even after a federal judge ordered the flights to stop. Her comments, made on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” mark the most direct acknowledgment yet that the administration allowed the removals to proceed despite the court’s intervention.
“The decisions that are made on deportations, where flights go, and when they go are my decision at the Department of Homeland Security,” Noem said during the interview. “And we will continue to do the right thing and ensure that dangerous criminals are removed.”
Court filings from the Justice Department last week revealed that Noem instructed immigration officials to keep transferring detainees to a Salvadoran megaprison. The flights occurred during an ongoing review of whether the Trump administration could face contempt charges for ignoring an oral directive from District Judge James Boasberg, who had ordered more than 100 Venezuelan detainees returned to the United States.
Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to accelerate the removal of Venezuelans, framing the move as a key part of what he has called the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history. The administration has argued that the March order from Judge Boasberg did not legally bind them to halt removals conducted before the ruling was issued.
According to the DOJ’s latest filing, 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,” insisting the move was “lawful and was consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Court’s order.” The department reaffirmed that position again on Tuesday.
Noem defended the administration’s approach, saying, “I’m proud of President Trump, and his leadership, and the decisions that we have made.”
The Venezuelan detainees held in El Salvador were later released and transferred back to Venezuela through a coordinated prisoner exchange this summer.
Judge Boasberg previously found probable cause to initiate contempt proceedings over the administration’s actions. That process was delayed for months until a federal appeals court cleared the way for the case to continue last week. Meanwhile, the broader legal challenge, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Trump’s use of the AEA, remains pending before Boasberg.
