The Trump administration has deported hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador, defying a federal judge’s order that temporarily halted the removals under a wartime-era law.
The deportations, conducted under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, primarily targeted alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, though no evidence has been publicly provided to confirm their affiliations.
On Saturday evening, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued a restraining order to stop the deportations. However, by that time, two planes carrying migrants had already departed—one bound for El Salvador and the other for Honduras. While Boasberg verbally instructed officials to turn the flights around, his directive was not included in the written order, allowing the deportations to proceed.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, a Trump ally, acknowledged the deportations in a social media post, sarcastically remarking, “Oopsie, too late.” Bukele had previously agreed to house around 300 deported migrants for a year in his country’s prisons at a cost of $6 million.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which led the legal challenge resulting in Boasberg’s ruling, is now investigating whether the deportations directly violated the court’s order.
“We have asked the government to confirm that it did not violate the court’s directive and are conducting our own investigation,” said Lee Gelernt, the ACLU’s lead attorney.
The Alien Enemies Act, last used during World War II to justify the detention of Japanese Americans, grants the president broad authority to detain or deport non-citizens if the U.S. is considered to be at war.
The Trump administration argued that Tren de Aragua was “invading” the U.S., using this rationale to expel Venezuelan migrants. Critics, however, warn that this justification could enable mass deportations of Venezuelan citizens without due process.
Venezuela’s government strongly condemned the move, likening it to historical human rights abuses.
“This declaration evokes the darkest chapters of history, from slavery to the horrors of Nazi concentration camps,” read an official statement.
Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America echoed these concerns, cautioning that “any Venezuelan citizen in the U.S. could now be deported under the mere suspicion of gang affiliation, with no opportunity for defense.”
Deported migrants were reportedly sent to El Salvador’s CECOT facility, a notorious high-security prison known for its harsh conditions.
