D.C. Circuit to Hear Upcoming Arguments on Trump Administration’s Defiance of Court Order and CECOT Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act 

The two hearings will test whether Trump administration officials will face consequences for violating federal judge’s order by sending more than 100 Venezuelan men to an El Salvador mega-prison and whether the men will ever get due process

September 22, 2026 11:00 am

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WASHINGTON — On Sept. 25 and Sept. 29, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is facing a direct test of executive accountability in two high-stakes J.G.G. v. Trump hearings. Both hearings stem from the Trump administration’s March 2025 decision to invoke the wartime Alien Enemies Act to send more than 100 Venezuelan men to CECOT, El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison, without due process and in defiance of D.C. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg’s order to halt the removal flights. The Ƶ and Ƶ of D.C. are counsel in this case.

The Sept. 25 hearing focuses on whether the men sent to CECOT are entitled to finally get hearings, either remotely or back in the United States, to show that they are not part of the Tren de Aragua gang and that their removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act without a hearing was illegal.

The Sept. 29 hearing focuses on accountability — specifically, whether Trump officials will face consequences for openly defying a federal judge. It will be en banc, meaning all 11 active judges will hear the argument — a procedure rarely used in the D.C. Circuit.

More than 200 former judges have filed an urging the court not to let the administration escape accountability. In opinions issued in connection with prior proceedings in this case, judges on the circuit have already that the government’s actions forming the basis of Judge Boasberg’s contempt inquiry raised “grave rule-of-law concerns.” As Judge Pan wrote, “When the political branches cease to honor the judgments and decisions of the judiciary, the carefully calibrated structure of our government collapses, and we are no longer a society that is protected by the rule of law.”

WHAT:

  • Sept. 25 — Panel Hearing: A three-judge panel will hear argument on whether the Venezuelan men sent to CECOT without due process are entitled to a hearing.
  • Sept. 29 — En Banc Contempt Hearing: Argument before the full D.C. Circuit on the criminal contempt inquiry into whether Trump officials willfully defied a federal court order.

WHO:

  • Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director, Ƶ Immigrants' Rights Project, will argue both cases.

WHEN:
Friday, September 25, 9:30 a.m. ET
Tuesday, September 29, 9:30 a.m. ET

WHERE:
Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse
333 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, D.C.
Court details:

Court audio streaming information here:

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Case page: HERE

Amicus brief filed by more than 200 former judges:


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