Noem made decision not to turn around deportation flights bound for El Salvador after judge's order, DOJ says

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem made the final decision to allow a group of deportees to be handed over to El Salvador after a judge said their flights must be returned to the United States, the Justice Department said in a court filing Tuesday .

The filing came as U.S. District Judge James Boasberg continues his inquiry into whether the Trump administration violated his orders to halt the mid-March deportation flights, including his verbal directive for the government to "turn around a plane" if necessary. Boasberg has accused the government of showing a "willful disregard" for his rulings.

The administration, the Justice Department argued on Tuesday, "did not violate" Boasberg's order, and "no further proceedings are warranted or appropriate."

But the administra