Trump administration deports hundreds of migrants despite judge order barring move

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 16, 2025 9:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

The Trump medication has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador adjacent arsenic a national justice issued an bid temporarily barring the deportations nether an 18th period wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan pack members, officials said Sunday. Flights were successful the aerial astatine the clip of the ruling.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an bid Saturday temporarily blocking the deportations, but lawyers told him determination were already 2 planes with immigrants successful the aerial — 1 headed for El Salvador, the different for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes beryllium turned around, but they seemingly were not and helium did not see the directive successful his written order.

White House property caput Karoline Leavitt, successful a connection Sunday, responded to speculation astir whether the medication was flouting tribunal orders: "The medication did not 'refuse to comply' with a tribunal order. The order, which had nary lawful basis, was issued aft violent TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory."

The acronym refers to the Tren de Aragua gang, which Trump targeted successful his antithetic proclamation that was released Saturday

In a tribunal filing Sunday, the Department of Justice, which has appealed Boasberg's decision, said it would not usage the Trump proclamation helium blocked for further deportations if his determination is not overturned.

Trump's allies were gleeful implicit the results.

"Oopsie — Too late," Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who agreed to location astir 300 immigrants for a twelvemonth astatine a outgo of $6 cardinal US successful his country's prisons, wrote connected the societal media tract X supra an nonfiction astir Boasberg's ruling. That station was recirculated by White House communications manager Steven Cheung.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who negotiated an earlier woody with Bukele to location immigrants, posted connected the site: "We sent implicit 250 alien force members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to clasp successful their precise bully jails astatine a just terms that volition besides prevention our payer dollars."

The immigrants were deported aft Trump's declaration of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has been utilized lone 3 times successful U.S. history.

WATCH | Trump moves rapidly connected migration raids, arrests: 

The law, invoked during the War of 1812 and World Wars I and II, requires a president to state the United States is astatine war, giving him bonzer powers to detain oregon region foreigners who different would person protections nether migration oregon transgression laws. It was past utilized to warrant the detention of Japanese-American civilians during World War II.

Venezuela's authorities successful a connection Sunday rejected the usage of Trump's declaration of the law, characterizing it arsenic evocative of "the darkest episodes successful quality history, from slavery to the fearfulness of the Nazi attraction camps."

Tren de Aragua originated successful an infamously lawless situation successful the cardinal authorities of Aragua and accompanied an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, the overwhelming bulk of whom were seeking amended surviving conditions aft their nation's system came undone during the past decade. Trump seized connected the pack during his run to overgarment misleading pictures of communities that helium contended were "taken over" by what were really a fistful of lawbreakers.

The Trump medication has not identified the immigrants deported, provided immoderate grounds they are successful information members of Tren de Aragua oregon that they committed immoderate crimes successful the United States. It besides sent 2 apical members of the Salvadoran MS-13 pack to El Salvador who had been arrested successful the United States.

The deportees were taken to the notorious CECOT facility, the centrepiece of Bukele's propulsion to pacify his erstwhile violence-wracked state done pugnacious constabulary measures and limits connected basal rights.

Flurry of litigation

The Trump medication said the president really signed the proclamation contending Tren de Aragua was invading the United States connected Friday nighttime but didn't denote it until Saturday afternoon. Immigration lawyers said that, precocious Friday, they noticed Venezuelans who different couldn't beryllium deported nether migration instrumentality being moved to Texas for deportation flights. They began to record lawsuits to halt the transfers.

The litigation that led to the clasp connected deportations was filed connected behalf of 5 Venezuelans held successful Texas who lawyers said were acrophobic they'd beryllium falsely accused of being members of the gang. Once the enactment is invoked, they warned, Trump could simply state anyone a Tren de Aragua subordinate and region them from the country.

Boasberg barred those Venezuelans' deportations Saturday greeting erstwhile the suit was filed, but lone broadened it to each radical successful national custody who could beryllium targeted by the enactment aft his day hearing. He noted that the instrumentality has ne'er earlier been utilized extracurricular of a congressionally declared warfare and that plaintiffs whitethorn successfully reason Trump exceeded his ineligible authorization successful invoking it.

The barroom connected deportations stands for up to 14 days and the immigrants volition stay successful national custody during that time. Boasberg has scheduled a proceeding Friday to perceive further arguments successful the case.

He said helium had to enactment due to the fact that the immigrants whose deportations whitethorn really interruption the U.S. Constitution deserved a accidental to person their pleas heard successful court.

"Once they're retired of the country," Boasberg said, "there's small I could do."