(I believe that this is a legal question and not a political question, as I'm not asking about the who and why of the people targeted by various actions.)
In the last several days there have been several instances of a judge issuing an order to the federal government, and of the federal government ignoring that order.
If I, as an individual, ignore a judge's order I would expect to be subject to contempt proceedings and could end up with a hefty fine or even jail time. These consequences are there to encourage me to follow the judge's order, or to sanction me if I don't.
But what actions can judge's take in these cases where the entity not following their orders is the federal government? How can the judge sanction such an entity? Or is it simply a case of the actions percolating up to the supreme court? (Which while the highest court, still doesn't hold power over the government)
Obviously I'm interested in the US for this question, but comparison with other jurisdictions could be interesting to see.
