The Trump administration recently deported nearly 250 Venezuelans suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador, despite a federal judge’s order to halt the deportations. The Justice Department justified the action by citing President Trump’s declaration of the gang as a terrorist organization and invoking his commander-in-chief powers along with the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Federal Judge James Boasberg has questioned why the government ignored his instructions to turn around planes headed for El Salvador. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign has asked an appeals court to remove Judge Boasberg from the case, arguing that he’s allowing terrorists to mount a class-action lawsuit without considering national security implications.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who receives about $20,000 per person annually to hold the gang members in his Terrorism Confinement Center, mocked the judge’s order on social media with a post that was promoted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Mr. Bukele released a video showing the deportees being processed into detention facilities.
The White House has embraced the controversy, with Vice President J.D. Vance stating, “There were violent criminals and rapists in our country. Democrats fought to keep them here. President Trump deported them.”
Tom Homan, Mr. Trump’s border czar, added that in addition to the 238 Tren de Aragua members, 21 MS-13 gang members were also sent to El Salvador.
Congressional Democrats have criticized the deportations, calling it an “unlawful and brazen power grab” using an “archaic wartime law.” They expressed concerns that U.S. citizens or people who haven’t committed crimes could be wrongfully deported.
In a separate case testing Trump’s immigration powers, Lebanese doctor Rasha Alawieh, a professor at Brown University working in the U.S. on an H-1B visa, was denied entry at Boston’s Logan International Airport and deported after Customs and Border Protection officers allegedly found images of Hezbollah figures on her phone. Her deportation occurred around the same time a judge ordered her to remain in the U.S. while investigating the situation.
CBP later justified the decision in court documents, stating they “determined that her true intentions in the United States could not be determined.”
Read more: Trump goes all-in on deportation fight, claims national security powers
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