Despite a judge in the U.S. issuing an order to halt deportations, the White House says that over 200 Venezuelans accused of being gang members have been deported from the U.S. to a mega-prison in El Salvador. This event has sparked controversy regarding whether the administration is complying with court orders, raising concerns about the separation of powers.
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03-17, 2025El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele stated on social media that 238 members of the Venezuelan gang "Tren de Aragua," along with 23 members of the international gang MS-13, arrived in the Central American nation on Sunday morning. Neither the U.S. nor the Salvadoran government has publicly identified these detainees or provided details about their alleged crimes or gang affiliations, leaving many questions unanswered.
A U.S. federal judge's order blocked the Trump administration from invoking a centuries-old wartime law to justify some of the deportations, but the flights carrying the deportees had already taken off. Bukele responded to the judge's ruling on social media by writing, "Oops… too late." He posted a video showing rows of people with their hands and feet shackled being escorted off a plane by armed officials, highlighting the swift action taken.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied violating the court's ruling. She stated, "This administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. The order had no legal basis and was issued after the aliens who are members of the TdA (Tren de Aragua) terror group had already been removed from United States territory," defending the administration's actions.
President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he had signed a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemy Act of 1798, accusing Tren de Aragua of "perpetrating, attempting, and threatening to perpetrate a predatory invasion of the United States." He stated that members of the gang would be deported because they are engaged in an "irregular war" against the U.S. The Alien Enemy Act was last used during World War II to detain Japanese-American civilians, raising concerns about its modern application.
Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered a 14-day pause on deportations covered by Trump's proclamation late Saturday, pending further legal arguments. According to U.S. media reports, after lawyers informed him that the plane carrying the deportees had already taken off, Judge Boasberg verbally ordered the flight to return, although that instruction did not form part of his written ruling, adding to the legal complexity.
Reuters reported that the written notice appeared in the case file at 7:25 p.m. ET on Saturday (00:25 GMT on Sunday), but it is unclear when the flight carrying the alleged gang members departed from the U.S. Attorneys for the Justice Department stated in a court filing on Sunday that the order did not apply because the deportees "had already been removed from U.S. territory," further complicating the legal challenge.
A senior administration official told CBS News (the BBC's U.S. partner) that 261 people were deported on Saturday, including 137 who were deported under the Alien Enemy Act for alleged gang affiliations. The Justice Department has appealed the judge's ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union is involved in the lawsuit against the Trump administration, stating that the court's order may have been violated, raising concerns about due process.
Venezuela criticized Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemy Act, calling it "illegitimately criminalizing Venezuelan migrants" and "evoking the darkest chapters in human history, from slavery to the horrors of Nazi concentration camps." Human rights groups have condemned Trump, accusing him of using a 227-year-old law to circumvent due process, highlighting the potential for abuse of power.
Amnesty International USA wrote on X that these deportations "again demonstrate the Trump administration's racist targeting of Venezuelans" based on "sweeping allegations of gang affiliation." President Bukele, an ally of Trump, stated that the detainees were immediately transferred to El Salvador's notorious mega-prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot). The Salvadoran president said they would be held there for "one year," with the possibility of "renewal," raising concerns about indefinite detention.
The newly built, maximum-security facility can hold up to 40,000 people, and human rights organizations have accused it of mistreating prisoners. The arrangement between the U.S. and El Salvador is a sign of strengthening diplomatic ties between the two countries. El Salvador was the second country Rubio visited as the top U.S. diplomat. The latest deportations during Trump's second term are part of the president's long-standing campaign against illegal immigration in the U.S.
In January, Trump signed an executive order designating Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations. He won support from voters during his campaign in part due to promises to implement the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. While illegal border crossings have fallen to their lowest levels in decades since Trump took office, the Republican president has reportedly been frustrated by the relatively slow pace of deportations to date, pushing for more aggressive enforcement.
