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What the Judge’s Contempt Threat Against the Trump Administration Means for Immigrants?
This morning on Buenos Días América with Univision Radio, I had the opportunity to speak about a developing legal issue that could have serious implications for how immigration orders are handled.
We discussed the case involving a Venezuelan immigrant who was deported to El Salvador despite a judge’s explicit order to stop that action. Now, the judge has given the government until April 23 to explain either why it disobeyed the order or to identify the officials responsible for ignoring it. If it’s proven that there was deliberate defiance, government officials could face criminal penalties — including jail time.
While the Trump administration continues to defend its actions using The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, it’s essential to understand that even under this law, due process must be respected. Immigrants must be informed why they are being deported and given a fair chance to defend themselves — particularly if they’re accused of gang involvement or national security concerns. In this case, the person was reportedly linked to MS-13, but the only proof was a document claiming he was from New York — a place he never lived.
The bigger concern is what happens when individuals are sent to a third country like El Salvador, especially when there are claims they belong to gangs. Without proper legal protections or evidence, and in regions where due process can be questionable, we risk exposing individuals to human rights violations and unjust imprisonment.
As we continue to monitor this case, it serves as a strong reminder that legal orders matter — and so does constitutional process, regardless of political agendas.
Let’s continue to stay informed and advocate for fair and lawful treatment of all immigrants.
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ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT:
Host:
Bien, a esta hora hablamos del juez que inicia un proceso contra el gobierno de Trump para declararlo en desacato, tras incumplir su orden de no expulsar a venezolanos a El Salvador. Ya está con nosotros Marta Arias, es abogada de inmigración. ¿Cómo está, abogada? Muy buenos días.
Abogada Martha Arias:
Reina, un saludo para usted, toda su audiencia y, obviamente, todo su equipo de trabajo.
Host:
Muchas gracias. La verdad es que esto nos tiene en expectativa porque ha sido un “tira y afloje”, como decimos nosotros, ¿no?, el caso de la expulsión de venezolanos a El Salvador. ¿En qué puede desencadenar este inicio de proceso contra el gobierno de Trump para declararlo en desacato? ¿Qué puede estar ocurriendo?
Abogada Martha Arias:
Bueno, lo que puede ocurrir es que el juez dio hasta el 23 de abril, hasta este mes, para que el gobierno escoja una de dos opciones.
Una opción es explicar por qué incumplió la orden de no deportar a esta persona o de no enviarla a El Salvador, y qué pasos se han dado o se están dando para honrar esa orden y retornar a esa persona a los Estados Unidos.
La segunda opción es que provea los nombres de los funcionarios del gobierno que tuvieron a su cargo cumplir la orden y no lo hicieron.
En este caso, si cualquiera de las opciones que se escojan demuestra que hubo una intención deliberada de no cumplir con la orden del juez, esta orden de desacato puede conllevar sanciones penales y cárcel para los funcionarios que no la ejecutaron, es decir, que deliberadamente la hubieran desacatado.
Host:
Abogada, muy buenos días, pero este proceso puede tardar mucho tiempo. Es decir, ¿podemos pasar meses esperando a que haya una resolución?
Abogada Martha Arias:
Sí, se pueden pasar varios meses porque de inicio ya tenemos hasta el 23 de abril para que el gobierno escoja una de estas opciones que mencioné. Después de eso, el juez va a revisar lo presentado y puede darle al gobierno la oportunidad de evitar ese proceso criminal de desacato. Es decir, puede haber una mediación entre las partes para determinar qué pasó y evitar llegar al proceso penal.
Si se llega al proceso penal —y aclaro que yo no soy abogada criminalista—, pero tengo entendido que seguirá todas las reglas de un proceso penal normal, lo cual puede tomar meses o incluso años.
Host:
Ahora, esta presión que se está generando por el inicio de este proceso contra el gobierno de Trump, ¿qué nos dice? ¿El gobierno de Donald Trump no puede expulsar ahora a venezolanos o a personas de nacionalidades específicas a El Salvador? ¿Qué va a pasar con ese plan del expresidente, quien recientemente esta semana conversó con Nayib Bukele en la Casa Blanca? ¿Ya no va a poder deportar?
Abogada Martha Arias:
No, él sí va a poder continuar deportando a las personas bajo la ley de enemigos extranjeros.
Le doy un recordatorio de lo que pasó: cuando esta persona fue enviada a El Salvador, el juez había emitido una orden de no enviarlo. El gobierno lo deportó igual, y luego presentó un recurso ante otra corte para que desestimara esa orden.
Esa segunda corte confirmó la orden del primer juez, y el gobierno continuó hasta llegar a la Corte Suprema. La Corte Suprema emitió una decisión donde dijo que la ley de enemigos extranjeros sí se puede usar para deportar inmigrantes a El Salvador en este caso, pero —y este es el punto más importante— el gobierno debe respetar el debido proceso.
Eso implica que debe informar a la persona que está siendo deportada bajo esa ley, y darle oportunidad de defensa. Por ejemplo, si la persona es acusada de pertenecer a una pandilla, un juez de inmigración debe darle las pruebas que lo justifiquen. En este caso, simplemente se alegó que pertenecía a una pandilla, lo detuvieron y lo deportaron.
A partir de ahora, cuando una persona vaya a ser enviada a la corte bajo esa ley, el documento debe indicar claramente que es bajo la ley de enemigos extranjeros, para que los jueces estén conscientes y garanticen el debido proceso.
Host:
Ahora, abogada, cuando una persona es deportada a El Salvador, ¿qué opciones tiene de defensa? ¿Y quién tiene la custodia de esas personas expulsadas a El Salvador?
Abogada Martha Arias:
Sí, esa es la parte que a mí me preocupa. Me preocupa porque, si se deportan salvadoreños, están en su país y enfrentarán su sistema judicial. Pero si la persona es de un tercer país y es acusada de pertenecer a una entidad terrorista o pandilla, es más complicado desde el punto de vista legal. Por ejemplo, la persona que fue deportada en este caso. El gobierno estadounidense debía probar con evidencia que pertenecía a la pandilla. Lo que he leído indica que solo había un documento del gobierno que decía que pertenecía a la MS-13 de Nueva York, pero el documento también indica que esa persona nunca había vivido en Nueva York.
Entonces, hay poca evidencia o evidencia débil sobre su pertenencia a una pandilla. Ahora lo deportan con esa escasa evidencia y sin debido proceso.
Llega a El Salvador, y el gobierno salvadoreño dice que tiene evidencias de que pertenece a una pandilla. Pero sabemos que en Latinoamérica muchas veces se “crea” evidencia, como dicen, “el papel lo aguanta todo”.
Entonces, si allá le ponen cargos criminales, primero va a tener que enfrentar a la justicia de El Salvador antes de cualquier posibilidad de regresar a los Estados Unidos.
Host:
Tengo que despedirla. Es allí donde está la gran pregunta. Gracias, abogada, por estar con nosotros esta mañana.
Abogada Martha Arias:
Gracias a ustedes.
ENGLISH TRANSCRIPT:
Host:
Alright, at this time we’re talking about the judge who has begun proceedings against the Trump administration to declare it in contempt after disobeying an order not to expel Venezuelans to El Salvador. With us now is Martha Arias, an immigration attorney. How are you, attorney? Good morning.
Attorney Martha Arias:
Reina, greetings to you, your audience, and of course your entire team.
Host:
Thank you very much. The truth is this has us on alert because it’s been a back and forth, as we say, right? The case of the expulsion of Venezuelans to El Salvador. What could come of this process being initiated to declare the Trump administration in contempt? What could be happening?
Attorney Martha Arias:
Well, what could happen is that the judge gave a deadline of April 23, this month, for the government to choose one of two options.
One option is to explain why it disobeyed the order not to deport this person or not to send them to El Salvador, and what steps have been taken or are being taken to honor that order and return that person to the United States.
The second option is to provide the names of the government officials who were responsible for carrying out the order and did not do so. In this case, if either of the chosen options shows that there was a deliberate intent not to comply with the judge’s order, the contempt order can result in criminal sanctions and jail time for the government officials who failed to carry it out — that is, who deliberately disobeyed it.
Host:
Attorney, good morning, but could this process take a long time? That is, could we go months waiting for a resolution?
Attorney Martha Arias:
Yes, it could take several months because initially, the government has until April 23 to choose one of the options I mentioned. After that, the judge will review what was presented and may give the government an opportunity to avoid that criminal contempt process. That is, there could be a mediation between the parties to determine what happened and perhaps avoid going to a criminal proceeding.
If it does go to a criminal proceeding — and I clarify that I am not a criminal attorney — but I understand that it will follow all the rules of a normal criminal process, which can take months or even years.
Host:
Now, this pressure that is being generated by the beginning of this process against the Trump administration, what does it tell us? That the Trump government cannot now expel Venezuelans or people of specific nationalities to El Salvador? What will happen to Trump’s plan, especially considering he met with Nayib Bukele at the White House just this week? Will he no longer be able to deport?
Attorney Martha Arias:
No, he can still continue deporting people under the Enemy Alien Act.
Let me give you a reminder of what happened: when this person was sent to El Salvador, the judge had issued an order not to send him. The government deported him anyway and then filed an appeal with another court to dismiss that judge’s order.
That second court confirmed the first judge’s order, and the government continued on to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court issued a decision saying that the Enemy Alien Act can be used to deport immigrants to El Salvador in this case, but — and this is the most important part — the government must provide due process.
That means informing the person that they are being deported under the Enemy Alien Act and giving them a chance to defend themselves.
For example, if someone is accused of belonging to a gang and is going to be deported for that reason, an immigration judge must provide the evidence and proof supporting the accusation.
In this case, that didn’t happen. They simply said this person belonged to a gang, detained him, and deported him. So now, when someone is sent to immigration court under that law, the document that sends them must state “Enemy Alien Act” very clearly so that judges are aware and can ensure due process is followed.
Host:
Now attorney, when someone is deported to El Salvador, what defense options do they have? And who has custody of those expelled to El Salvador?
Attorney Martha Arias:
Yes, that’s the part that concerns me. It concerns me because if Salvadoran nationals are deported, well, they are going to their own country and will have to face the laws of their country.
But if the person is from a third country and is accused of belonging to a terrorist group or gang, I think it’s very complicated legally.
For example, the person currently over there. First, the U.S. government had to prove with evidence that he belonged to a gang. From what I’ve read, there was only one government document saying he belonged to the MS-13 gang from New York, and that same document stated he had never lived in New York.
So we’re starting with very little or weak evidence of his gang affiliation.
Now they deport him with that little evidence, without due process. He arrives in El Salvador, and the Salvadoran government claims they have evidence that he belongs to a gang. But we all know that in Latin America, evidence — as we say — “paper can take anything.” People fabricate evidence. So now, if this person is going to be charged with criminal offenses in El Salvador, I imagine he will have to face the Salvadoran justice system before he can ever return to the United States.
Host:
We have to say goodbye. That’s where the big question lies. Thank you, attorney, for being with us this morning.
Attorney Martha Arias:
Thank you all.
