Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs The Trump administration has denied defying a federal judge’s order temporarily halting deportations ordered under an 18th-century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on Sunday morning that 250 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang were sent to El Salvador after a U.S. federal judge ordered to temporarily halt the removals and turn back any planes carrying deportees.Newsweek has contacted the State Department for further comment via email outside of regular office hours.Why It MattersTrump has vowed to carry out mass deportations of individuals in the U.S. illegally. His term kicked off with high-profile immigration raids, a suspension of asylum processing for undocumented migrants, and executive orders designed to expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) authority to arrest and detain those in the country unlawfully.
A second group of 2,000 detainees are moved to the mega-prison Terrorist Confinement Centre (CECOT) on March 15, 2023 in Tecoluca, El Salvador.
A second group of 2,000 detainees are moved to the mega-prison Terrorist Confinement Centre (CECOT) on March 15, 2023 in Tecoluca, El Salvador.
Presidencia El Salvador via Getty Images
What To KnowOn Saturday, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged Tren de Aragua gang members. This law has been used three times in U.S. history—during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.The law grants the U.S. president the authority to detain, restrict or deport foreign nationals from a country that is at war with the United States.Soon after, a federal judge issued a temporary order to block its enforcement.Axios reported on Sunday that two senior White House officials told the outlet the administration was aware of the court order but chose to ignore it. One official suggested that the legal dispute will ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The other official said the ruling didn’t apply because the flights were over international waters.On Saturday, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order temporarily halting the deportations. However, lawyers informed him that two planes carrying immigrants were already in the air. Although Boasberg verbally ordered the aircraft to be turned around, the directive was not included in his written order.”You shall inform your clients of this immediately any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States,” Boasberg said during a hearing on Saturday. “However that’s accomplished, turning around the plane, or not embarking anyone on the plane…This is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday that the administration did not “refuse to comply” with a court order as it had no lawful basis and was issued after “terrorist TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory.”In a court filing on Sunday, the Department of Justice, which is appealing Boasberg’s ruling, stated that if the decision remains in place, it will not enforce the blocked Trump proclamation for additional deportations.”I don’t know. You have to speak to the lawyers about that,” Trump told reporters on Sunday evening. “I can tell you this. These were bad people.”Asked about invoking presidential powers used in times of war, Trump said, “This is a time of war,” describing the influx of criminal migrants as “an invasion.”Trump announced on Saturday that he had signed a proclamation designating the Tren de Aragua gang as engaging in “irregular warfare” against the U.S, allowing for the deportation of its members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.The Trump administration has designated the Tren de Aragua gang as a terrorist organization. The White House has repeatedly said that the gang has “invaded” the U.S.Tren de Aragua emerged from a notoriously lawless prison in Venezuela’s central state of Aragua and spread alongside the mass migration of millions of Venezuelans after the country’s economic collapse over the past decade.The group is accused of involvement in violent crimes, human trafficking, and the smuggling of women and girls for sexual exploitation.TdA has been linked to a string of high-profile crimes in the U.S, including the murders of nursing student Laken Riley, 22, and Jocelyn Nungaray, 12.The U.S. and El Salvador reached an agreement in February where the U.S. will pay the country $6 million to hold around 300 gang members in a prison, known as CECOT, or the Terrorism Confinement Center.The Trump administration has not disclosed the identities of the deported immigrants, nor has it provided evidence that they are members of Tren de Aragua or that they committed any crimes in the United States.What People Are SayingWhite House press secretary Karlone Leavitt said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday: “The Administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory. The written order and the Administration’s actions do not conflict. Moreover, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear — federal courts generally have no jurisdiction over the President’s conduct of foreign affairs, his authorities under the Alien Enemies Act, and his core Article II powers to remove foreign alien terrorists from U.S. soil and repel a declared invasion. A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrying foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil.”Stephen Manning, executive director of Innovation Law Lab, said in a statement shared with Newsweek: “We condemn this dangerous and authoritarian proclamation, and will continue to fight back against any attempt to criminalize, detain, or deport our immigrant neighbors. We have no doubt Trump intends to use the law to target immigrants he personally dislikes and racially profile entire communities in order to detain, deport, and restrict their movement without due process or legal recourse.”Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council said in a post on X: People on the flight sent to El Salvador had ZERO opportunity to contest the government’s evidence. Many said they were falsely accused of belong to Tren de Aragua. One person had a hearing set for tomorrow! There was no due process at all.What Happens NextJudge Boasberg’s ruling, temporarily halting deportations ordered under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, could trigger a high-stakes legal battle with the Trump administration that may ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
