The Trump administration has deported hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador, disregarding a federal judge’s order temporarily halting such actions under an 18th-century wartime law targeting Venezuelan gang members. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued the order Saturday evening, but deportation flights were already en route to El Salvador and Honduras at that time. Despite Boasberg’s verbal directive to return the planes, they proceeded to their destinations, as this instruction was not included in his written order.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refuted claims of non-compliance, asserting that the judge’s order lacked legal basis and was issued after the immigrants had already left U.S. territory. The deportations were conducted under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law historically invoked during wartime, now applied to alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who agreed to detain approximately 300 immigrants in his country’s prisons for a year at a cost of $6 million, expressed approval of the deportations. However, Venezuela’s government condemned the use of the Alien Enemies Act, likening it to historical atrocities. Legal and human rights organizations are challenging the deportations, raising concerns about potential misuse of the act to expel Venezuelans from the U.S. without due process.
Source: Swifteradio.com
