Trump administration deports over 200 Venezuelans as judge orders them returned

THE TRUMP administration has deported over 200 Venezuelans from the United States to a sprawling prison in El Salvador, even as a federal judge ordered their return to the U.S.

The White House said in a statement that it wasn't defying the court but at the same time argued that it was perfectly within its rights to ignore the judge's ruling.

"A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil," Reuters quoted White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying in a statement.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., had earlier blocked President Donald Trump's application of the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century law best known for its use in rounding up U.S. residents of Japanese descent and placing them in internment camps without trial during World War II.

Trump had sought to use the Act's seldom-used wartime powers to rapidly deport alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has been linked to kidnapping, extortion and contract killings.

In a Saturday evening hearing, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg blocked the use of the law for 14 days, saying the statute refers to "hostile acts" perpetrated by another country that are "commensurate to war." – March 17, 2025