Despite a federal ruling blocking the action, over 200 suspected gang members were deported to El Salvador.
A controversial move by the Trump administration has sparked legal and political debate after it deported over 200 suspected Venezuelan gang members despite a federal judge's ruling blocking the action, as reported by HotNews.
White House Challenges Judicial Authority
The deportation was carried out following a court decision by Judge James Boasberg, who had blocked President Donald Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly expel alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang. The gang has been linked to crimes such as kidnapping, extortion, and murder.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration's actions, claiming the judge lacked authority to prevent the deportations. "A single judge in a single city cannot dictate the movement of a plane filled with foreign terrorists who have already been physically removed from U.S. soil," Leavitt stated.
Trump himself dismissed concerns when asked if his administration had violated the court order. "These were bad people," he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Legal Experts Condemn the Move
Legal scholars have called the administration’s actions an unprecedented challenge to the separation of powers. Patrick Eddington, a national security and civil liberties expert at the Cato Institute, stated that the move was "beyond limits and certainly without precedent," adding that it represented the most significant test of constitutional boundaries since the American Civil War.
Judge Boasberg had ordered that any deportation flights involving migrants processed under the law be turned back to the U.S., but the administration did not comply.
International Reaction
The decision prompted a response from El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who posted a video of men being forcibly removed from a plane, accompanied by the caption, "Oops… Too late," along with a laughing emoji. His post was later reshared by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who thanked Bukele for his cooperation.
Despite the administration’s claims that the deported individuals were gang members or foreign terrorists, Reuters reported that it could not independently verify whether those expelled had criminal backgrounds.
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and the judiciary over immigration policy, as legal battles continue to unfold.
