WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi has come to the defense of the Trump administration’s decision to proceed with deportation flights of alleged gang members to El Salvador, insisting that no court order was violated in the process.
Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Bondi dismissed allegations that the government had defied a federal judge’s directive when it refused to halt two deportation flights last month.
“I don’t think anyone defied an order by a judge,” she said in an exchange with CNN. “That’s pending in court right now. I think our attorneys have argued in court. I anticipate this will go to the Supreme Court, and be ruled in our favor.”
Bondi also emphasized that the deportation flights were already beyond U.S. airspace at the time of the court’s intervention, and reiterated that those onboard were “some of the worst of the worst”—individuals allegedly affiliated with violent gangs.
“They were illegal aliens from El Salvador who qualified under the Alien Enemies Act,” she said. “We should be more concerned about the victims of these crimes here in our states than about these defendants.”
Her remarks follow a tense courtroom session in which U.S. District Judge James Boasberg questioned whether there was “probable cause” to hold Trump administration officials in contempt for possibly violating his previous orders. Those orders had temporarily halted the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has praised El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for accepting the deportees, calling it a victory for public safety. He also took a swipe at the Biden administration, accusing it of failing to prevent criminals from entering the U.S. in the first place.
The legal showdown over the controversial deportation policy continues to unfold in the courts, with a potential Supreme Court battle looming.
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