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The Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrants to El Salvador, despite a federal judge’s temporary order blocking such removals. The flights were already in the air when U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued the ruling on Saturday evening, barring deportations under an 18th-century wartime law invoked to target Venezuelan gang members.
El Salvador President Reacts with Mockery
According to court filings, two planes carrying migrants were already en route—one bound for El Salvador, the other for Honduras—when Boasberg issued his order. Although the judge verbally instructed that the planes be turned around, this directive was not included in the written ruling, and the flights proceeded as planned.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, reacted with sarcasm on social media, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “OopsieToo late,” above a news article detailing Boasberg’s decision. Bukele had previously agreed to house around 300 migrants in his country’s prisons for a year at a cost of $6 million.
His post was recirculated by White House communications director Steven Cheung, further fueling controversy.
Rubio Defends Deportations to El Salvador
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who played a key role in negotiating the migrant detention deal with Bukele, defended the move. “We sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars,” Rubio wrote on X.
The deportations were carried out under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely used wartime law that grants the president sweeping powers to detain or remove foreign nationals. Historically, this law has only been invoked three times—during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. The last time it was used, it justified the detention of Japanese-American civilians during World War II.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which had filed the lawsuit leading to Boasberg’s temporary restraining order, is investigating whether the government violated the court’s ruling.
“This morning, we asked the government to assure the Court that its order was not violated and are waiting to hear, as well as trying to do our own investigation,” ACLU’s lead attorney, Lee Gelernt, said in a statement on Sunday.
Venezuela Condemns Deportations
Venezuela’s government issued a statement strongly condemning Trump’s invocation of the law, comparing it to historical injustices. “This action evokes the darkest episodes in human history, from slavery to the horror of the Nazi concentration camps,” the statement read.
Tren de Aragua, the gang at the center of the deportation controversy, originated in a notorious Venezuelan prison. While Trump has highlighted the gang’s activities during his campaign, critics argue that his statements exaggerate the group’s influence and misrepresent broader migrant communities.
Lack of Transparency in Identifying Deportees
The Trump administration has not publicly identified the deported migrants, nor has it provided evidence that they are affiliated with Tren de Aragua or have committed crimes in the United States. However, the administration did confirm that two top members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang, who had been arrested in the U.S., were also sent to El Salvador.
On Sunday, the Salvadoran government released a video showing the arrival of deported migrants. The footage depicted men exiting aircraft onto an airport tarmac lined with heavily armed officers in riot gear. Their hands and ankles were shackled, making movement difficult as officers forced them to bow at the waist.
Additional footage showed the migrants being transported to prison in a convoy of buses, escorted by police and military vehicles, with at least one helicopter overhead. Once inside the facility, the men were made to kneel as their heads were shaved before being issued prison uniforms consisting of knee-length white shorts, a T-shirt, socks, and rubber clogs.
Migrants Sent to Notorious Prison
The migrants were taken to the high-security CECOT prison, a cornerstone of Bukele’s crackdown on crime. His administration has prioritized mass incarceration and strict policing to restore order in a country once plagued by extreme violence. However, human rights organizations have raised concerns over the harsh conditions and lack of due process within these facilities.
The Trump administration disclosed that the president had signed the proclamation classifying Tren de Aragua as an invading force on Friday night, though it was not publicly announced until Saturday afternoon. Immigration lawyers said they noticed an unusual uptick in Venezuelan migrants being transferred to Texas for deportation flights late Friday, prompting them to take legal action in an attempt to halt the removals.
