Judge Mark Goldsmith, in his preliminary injunction ordering release of Iraqi nationals detained >6 mos by Trump admin pending their deportation (Hamama v. Adducci): "The Government has acted ignobly in this case, by failing to comply with court orders...
... submitting demonstrably false declarations of Government officials, and otherwise violating its litigation obligations - all of which impels this Court to impose sanctions."
First few pages of Goldsmith's ruling are a long, DETAILED explanation of all the many ways the administration delayed/avoided/failed in producing documents as ordered by the court. The annoyance is palpable 
A March 2017 cable from a U.S. diplomat in Baghdad laid out a "Statement of Cooperation" with the Iraqi government on how to return 1,400 Iraqis ordered deported from the U.S. The only problem was that the Iraqi government seems not to have agreed to this
ICE successfully deported 8 Iraqi nationals in April 2017. But when it came time to do it again, and deport another group of Iraqis, Iraq balked, denying to issue travel docs for its citizens in part because they did not express a willingness to return voluntarily
.@Haleaziz reported on some of the twists in this case back in August: buzzfeednews.com/article/hameda…
Wow: at one point an Iraqi diplomat asked the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, "What happens to someone who may have committed a crime, fulfilled the sentence, been released and has since perhaps married and has [American citizen] children and/or spouse? Is there any allowance for this?"
Lots of back/forth between Iraq and US in June/July 2017 over taking back its nationals. Bottom line: by 7/19/2017, ICE said that it "considers Iraq to be among the most recalcitrant countries." Recall: primary reason Iraq taken off travel ban was it agreed to accept deportees
Also read @Haleaziz here:
On July 20, 2017, same day ICE officials exchanged emails on seeking visa sanctions against Iraq, one of those officials signed a declaration to court stating that "Iraq has agreed...to the timely return of its nationals." Goldsmith, somewhat restrained, calls this "surprising"
The few documents in court records stating Iraq's position on forced repatriation are quite clear. One states "we refuse the principle of forced return of Iraqis abroad...because it conflicts with humanitarian laws and principles." The others are similarly unequivocal
Judge Goldsmith basically states that the administration can't be given the benefit of the doubt, at least on the issue of Iraqi deportees. "The Government's representations in this case are often suspect."
Citing 2 administration officials' statements that the Iraqi government is willing to accept deportees, Goldsmith writes: "the Court finds Schultz's and Bernacke's representations not worthy of belief - especially without supporting documentation, which has not materialized."
Judge Goldsmith: "Whatever the 'agreement' was between the U.S. and Iraq on March 12, 2017, the agreement has not evolved; it has devolved, back to the negotiation stage, and there does not appear to be a clear way forward to repatriate Iraqi nationals at this time."
Goldsmith then goes after the admin's discovery process, which he calls "glacial": "Petitioners should not be made to languish in detention while the Government puts this case on the back burners...the Government has used discovery to slow this case to its benefit..."
"...From the earliest stages of this case, the Government made demonstrably false statements to the Court designed to delay the proceedings...the Government appears befuddled by the entire discovery process and cannot proceed without the Court's constant intervention." Jesus
"the Govt's attorneys are quite capable, which leads Court to conclusion that Govt's conduct is of its own making and demonstrates clear bad faith... Court draws reasonable inference that Govt is withholding documents adverse to its position in hope its situation will improve"
Bottom line: all Iraqis who had been ordered deported but have been detained >6 months must be released within 30 days, unless there is a "strong special justification" (but Court will decide), or unless the US can deport them within 30 days (which does not seem, um, likely)
Another point here. Look at how admin's immigration agenda subsumes everything. Imagine all the things the US ambassador needs to discuss w Iraqi prime minister - Iran's influence, US mil presence, etc. But the 1st issue raised in their meeting is deportation of a few dozen ppl
