A little-noticed portion of the Federal Budget Bill recently passed by the House of Representatives deals with the power of the Federal Courts to respond when court orders are ignored. The summary text from Sec. 70302 follows:

(Sec. 70302) This section limits the ability of U.S. courts to enforce a citation for contempt for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order. Specifically, if no security was given when the injection or order was issued, the citation of contempt may not be enforced using appropriated funds. This limitation applies to injunctions or orders issued before, on, or after the date of enactment.

The inclusion of this section in the Budget Bill is clearly a reaction to the determination by Federal Courts that many of the Trump Administration’s “Executive Orders” are unconstitutional and illegal. The deportation case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a Salvadoran Prison, and whom Federal and Supreme Courts ordered must be returned and given “due process” is a flagrant example.

In research of this case, an interesting coincidence was found. A leader of a Mexican drug cartel happens to share a similar name to Mr. Garcia. The drug lord is named Juan Garcia Abrego and he is now 80 years old. He was captured in 1996 and is currently imprisoned at the Federal Maximum Security Prison in Northern West Virginia, according to the public record available from the Federal Bureau of Prisoners Inmate Locator.

The case of Mr. Kimar Abrego Garcia has puzzled many as to how such a serious mistake could be made and go undiscovered. The use of Artificial Intelligence by a government in a hurry to deport as many black and brown people as possible, as quickly as possible, could be at fault. Mistakes are more likely without examination of the case by a court of law, known as “due process”. The use of due process guaranteed to everyone in the United States, aliens and citizens, alike would have prevented this mistake from happening at all. This is exactly why due process matters and everyone should be alarmed at what happened to Mr. Garcia and his family.

The Trump Administration has refused to return Mr. Garcia to the United States in order to afford him the right to a hearing in this case. The Supreme Court ruled on April 10, 2025 that Mr. Garcia must be returned. To date the Trump Administration and Homeland Security have missed two deadlines imposed by the U.S. District Judge in Maryland who first heard the case. The order required the Administration to document its efforts to return Mr. Garcia as ruled by the Supreme Court. As of this date, the Administration has made no effort to comply with either the District nor the Supreme Court.

Without the ability to find the Executive “in contempt” for failing to follow court orders, the Federal Courts will be rendered powerless against a rogue Executive. This obvious attempt to subvert the third branch of the government is clearly unconstitutional. While many who review the Budget Bill will be distracted by the serious cuts to Medicaid and elimination of regulations protecting the environment, the attack on the Federal Judiciary has significant implications for all areas of the Federal Government.

Teresa R. Porter

Marietta, Ohio