Courts rejected a misconduct accusation against Judge James Boasberg. (Associated Press)
The ruling comes as part of a nearly year-long saga, when the federal judge attempted to halt the Trump administration's deportations of migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act in March 2025.
The Supreme Court ultimately allowed the Trump administration to continue using the Alien Enemies Act to carry out deportations in April, but ordered that detainees receive notice and an opportunity to challenge allegations.
Boasberg has since been wading through legal avenues with the men in El Salvador, issuing a ruling in December that the Trump administration denied them their due process.
It is unclear how many of the men will actually take the offer and return to the U.S., with Boasberg noting that the noncitizens "would be detained upon arrival" back to the U.S.
Similar to Boasberg's ruling, another federal judge this month ordered the Trump administration to pay for the return of three migrant families that the judge ruled ICE unlawfully deported by a 2023 humanitarian-parole settlement.
TRUMP ADMIN ASKS BOASBERG FOR MORE TIME TO DETAIL CECOT PLANS AFTER MADURO OUSTER
DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin (dhs.gov)
The migrants in El Salvador were removed under The Alien Enemies Act, which is a 1798 wartime immigration law that the Trump administration invoked to deport violent gang members with alleged ties to criminal organizations, such as Tren de Aragua (TdA).
TdA, as well as MS-13, were additionally designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Trump administration's State Department in February 2025.
The administration has described those deported to the notoriously secure prison in El Salvador as "violent savages" and terrorists who pose a threat to U.S. security.
A prisoner is moved as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) on March 26, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
A previous analysis of 238 migrants deported to El Salvador found six faced attempted murder, assault, armed robbery, gun possession or domestic battery charges in the U.S., the Texas Tribune reported in May 2025, while 32 other deportees had been convicted in the U.S. of crimes, many of which were nonviolent, according to the outlet.
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DHS has defended that deportees labeled "‘non-criminals" by the media are "terrorists, human rights abusers, gang members and more — they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/americans-could-pay-bring-back-alleged-members-foreign-terrorist-cartel-us