A federal appeals court cleared the way this month for U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to continue to rule on the fate of hundreds of CECOT migrants deported by the Trump administration earlier this year - dissolving an emergency stay it previously handed down, and sending the case back down to the lower court for further consideration.
Members of the appeals court panel - Judges Gregory Katsas, Neomi Rao and Justin Walker - ruled on the matter earlier this month, but it came into effect for the first time this week.
The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit formally dissolves the emergency stay it granted to the Trump administration earlier in June, due to what the judges said was a significantly new factual situation at play after CECOT detainees were transferred from El Salvador to Venezuela.
The order also punts the case back to Boasberg for consideration in light of the new circumstances.
Judges stressed in their order that they were not ruling on the lower court injunction, or the merits of the appeal filed by the Trump administration.
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"Under these circumstances, it would make little sense for this court to review a preliminary injunction that, in all likelihood, has been overtaken by events," they said.
Rather, they said, the decision was based solely on new developments in the case, after the CECOT migrant class was sent to Venezuela under a diplomatic agreement and prisoner exchange struck with the Maduro regime.
The three-judge panel said that, in its view, the situation for CECOT plaintiffs had changed in such a way that it would "alter the appropriateness of injunctive relief" from the court - a test often used to determine the appropriateness of vacating and remanding a decision to review a case pending on appeal.
The transfer from CECOT to Venezuela "alters the harm experienced by plaintiffs," judges said, adding that i may affect the government's ability to obtain custody of the migrants in question, though that would be up to the lower courts to ascertain.
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"In light of these developments, we find that it is 'just under the circumstances' to vacate the order and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings," the court said.
The ruling comes after the U.S. appeals court agreed in June to review the preliminary injunction issued by Judge Boasberg, after he provisionally certified a class of Venezuelan migrants challenging their detention at CECOT, and ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" due process protections for them, including allowing them the opportunity to seek habeas relief and challenge their alleged gang member status, which was used as the basis of their removals under the Alien Enemies Act in March.
Lawyers for the Trump administration quickly appealed the case to the higher court, which granted the emergency stay.
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They said in their ruling this month that the new circumstances at play are likely significant enough to preclude them from weighing in on the case.
While the appeal "raised serious questions about a court's power to direct the Executive's diplomatic conduct, we do not reach those questions because of a fundamental change in circumstances," the court said.
"We express no opinion on what kind of class or relief, if any, may be appropriate in light of the changed circumstances," the judges added.
The next steps in the case are unclear.
Judges on the appeals court noted that the CECOT class plaintiffs would likely need to amend their request for habeas relief, to reflect the updated circumstances. They also allowed for the possibility that some plaintiffs may not wish to press the case further, should it require them to "submit to the United States' custody."
Still, the lawsuit is almost certain to continue before Judge Boasberg, who ordered the Justice Department back to court in July to press them for details on the location and custodial status of the CECOT migrants following their removal to Venezuela.
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He also ordered both Trump lawyers and plaintiffs to submit regular status updates to his court as he weighs what, if any, opportunities the court has for relief - indicating the matter is not going away any time soon.
During that hearing, ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt cited fresh concerns about the custodial status of CECOT migrants now in Venezuela.
He noted to Boasberg during the hearing that "many, if not most" of the 252 Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. to El Salvador in March had been in the U.S. seeking asylum from Venezuela.
Boasberg has been at the center of the sweeping immigration case since March 15, when he issued an emergency order blocking the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act, the 1798 wartime immigration law, to deport certain migrants to El Salvador.
