The Trump administration has sent hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador, despite a federal judge issuing a temporary order halting these deportations under an 18th-century wartime statute aimed at Venezuelan gang members. Officials reported that flights were taking off even as the ruling was issued.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg delivered a ruling on Saturday that blocked the deportations, but attorneys informed him that two planes—one bound for El Salvador and another for Honduras—were already en route. Although Boasberg verbally instructed for the planes to return, this directive was not included in his written order.
In a court submission on Sunday, the Department of Justice, which has appealed Judge Boasberg’s ruling, stated that the immigrants “had already left U.S. territory” when the formal order was recorded at 7:26 p.m.
Supporters of Trump expressed their satisfaction with the outcome.
“Oopsie…Too late,” proclaimed Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who consented to accommodate around 300 immigrants for a year, costing $6 million at his nation’s prisons, in a post on the social media platform X above an article about Boasberg’s ruling. This post was shared by Steven Cheung, the White House communications director.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who previously negotiated a deal with Bukele to shelter immigrants, commented, “We sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua, which El Salvador has agreed to keep in their very good prisons at a fair price, ultimately saving taxpayer money.”
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks along the southern border with Mexico, on Aug. 22, 2024, in Sierra Vista, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
According to Steve Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University, although Boasberg’s directive to turn the planes back was not officially part of the final order, the Trump administration clearly disregarded its “spirit.”
“This will only motivate future courts to be extremely precise in their rulings, leaving no room for governmental flexibility,” Vladeck stated.
The deportations occurred following Trump invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, used only three times in U.S. history.
This law, cited during the War of 1812 and both World Wars, allows a president to declare war, granting him extraordinary authority to detain or deport foreigners who otherwise would be protected by immigration or criminal statutes. It was last exploited to justify the internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department referenced a previous statement from Attorney General Pam Bondi criticizing Boasberg’s ruling and did not provide immediate answers regarding whether the administration defied the court’s order.
The Venezuelan government labeled Trump’s use of the law in a statement on Sunday as reminiscent of “the darkest moments in human history, from slavery to the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps.”
The Tren de Aragua gang emerged from a notoriously lawless prison in the central state of Aragua and overlapped with the exodus of millions of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse over the past decade. Trump used the gang as a political tool during his campaign, painting a misleading picture of communities he falsely claimed were “overrun” by a small number of wrongdoers.
The Trump administration has not disclosed the identities of those deported or provided evidence of their affiliation with Tren de Aragua or any criminal activity while in the United States. Additionally, it has also deported two high-ranking members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang who had been apprehended in the U.S.
In this photo provided by El Salvador’s presidential press office, a prison guard transfers deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP)
Video footage released by the Salvadoran government on Sunday displayed men disembarking from planes onto a runway surrounded by officers in riot gear. The men, shackled at their wrists and ankles, were escorted to bend down as they walked.
The footage further illustrated the men being transported to a prison via a large convoy of buses, accompanied by police and military vehicles, with at least one helicopter present. They were shown kneeling on the ground while their heads were shaved before changing into the prison’s all-white attire—knee-length shorts, t-shirt, socks, and rubber clogs—before being placed into cells.
The immigrants were directed to the notorious CECOT facility, which is central to President Bukele’s initiative to restore order to his previously violent country through stringent police tactics and restrictions on fundamental rights.
The Trump administration claimed that the president signed the proclamation asserting Tren de Aragua was invading the U.S. on Friday night, but not until Saturday afternoon was it made public. Immigration lawyers reported noticing Venezuelans, who otherwise would not be deportable under immigration regulations, being transferred to Texas late Friday for potential flight deportation, prompting them to file lawsuits to block these relocations.
“Essentially, any Venezuelan citizen in the U.S. might be removed under the pretext of being connected to Tren de Aragua, with no opportunity to defend themselves,” warned Adam Isacson from the Washington Office for Latin America, a human rights organization, on X.
The legal action that led to halting the deportations was initiated on behalf of five Venezuelans detained in Texas, who lawyers claimed feared being wrongly identified as members of the gang. They cautioned that invoking the act would allow Trump to simply label anyone a member of Tren de Aragua and have them deported.
Boasberg issued a ban on those Venezuelans’ deportations on Saturday morning when the lawsuit was filed, later expanding it to include all individuals in federal custody who might be targeted by the act after his afternoon hearing. He noted that this law has never before been invoked outside of a congressionally declared war and that plaintiffs might potentially argue that Trump overstepped his legal authority in utilizing it.
The suspension on deportations is effective for up to 14 days, during which the immigrants will remain in federal custody. Boasberg has arranged a hearing for Friday to consider further arguments regarding the case.
He stated that it was necessary to act as immigrants facing deportation could violate the U.S. Constitution deserved the chance to present their cases in court.
“Once they are out of the country,” Boasberg remarked, “there’s little I could do.”
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Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela.
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