The Justice Department has filed an ethics complaint against Judge James Boasberg, who serves as the chief U.S. district judge in Washington, D.C. The complaint focuses on Boasberg’s handling of a case involving the Trump administration’s deportation of Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador without proper legal procedures.
According to MSNBC, the case began on March 15 when five Venezuelans filed a lawsuit to stop their deportation under a 2025 presidential proclamation that used the Alien Enemies Act. This 1798 law allows the government to remove foreign citizens during times of war or foreign invasion, though some Trump-appointed judges have controversially supported its use in modern deportation cases. Boasberg ordered the administration to halt the deportations, comparing the situation to a nightmare scenario.
