WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Trump administration has deported hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador and Honduras despite a federal judge’s temporary restraining order barring their removal. The deportations occurred under President Trump’s March 16 declaration invoking the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used 18th-century wartime measure, targeting members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.
Flights carrying the deported individuals were reportedly in the air when U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order temporarily halting the deportations. While Boasberg verbally directed that the planes be turned around, the administration allowed them to land, raising questions about compliance with the court’s ruling.
In response to accusations of defying the judicial order, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Sunday that “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.”
However, an emergency ACLU court filing on March 17 disputes this claim, arguing that the Trump administration’s actions may have deliberately circumvented the judge’s order. The filing calls for the Department of Justice to provide sworn declarations detailing whether flights had already taken off when the order was issued and whether the administration deliberately ignored the directive to return them.
Judge Boasberg’s order came after immigrant rights advocates filed suit to challenge the mass deportations, arguing that Trump’s declaration violates due process and immigration laws. During a Saturday evening hearing, Boasberg explicitly instructed government attorneys that “any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States.”
Despite this, two flights departed from Harlingen, Texas, after the ruling:
- GlobalX Flight 6143 landed in Comayagua, Honduras at 7:36 p.m.
- GlobalX Flight 6145 landed in San Salvador, El Salvador at 8:02 p.m.
Court records show that one of these flights took off after the written order was posted at 7:26 p.m.—meaning that federal authorities were fully aware of the ruling yet continued with the deportation.
The ACLU’s filing states: “If that is how the government proceeded, it was a blatant violation of the Court’s Order.”
Boasberg had been explicit about his concern over losing jurisdiction: “I don’t have jurisdiction to require their return” once individuals were handed over to foreign governments. Nonetheless, the Trump administration appears to have allowed this exact scenario to unfold.
Legal scholars warn that the administration’s actions could set a dangerous precedent by testing the limits of executive power over the judiciary. Mattathias Schwartz of the New York Times described the situation as “a direct confrontation between the White House and the federal courts.”
While Trump sidestepped questions about potential violations of a court order during an Air Force One press conference, his legal team is appealing the ruling. The Department of Justice stated Sunday that it would halt further deportations under the Alien Enemies Act unless Boasberg’s ruling is overturned.
Yet, reports suggest that senior administration officials, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, chose not to turn the planes around. An Axios report cites a White House official arguing that “the flights were already over international waters.”
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele responded with a tweet mocking the ruling, writing: “Oopsie … Too late.”
The administration’s reliance on the Alien Enemies Act (AEA)—a law enacted in 1798—has alarmed civil rights groups, who argue it grants unchecked executive power to deport immigrants without due process. The law allows the president to unilaterally order the removal of noncitizens deemed a threat during wartime, but it has rarely been invoked since World War II.
“This is an unprecedented and unconstitutional power grab,” said Lee Gelernt, lead ACLU attorney on the case. “The administration is essentially creating a legal black hole where people can be disappeared without a hearing or a judge’s approval.”
While the administration claims the removals targeted gang-affiliated individuals, no evidence has been provided linking those deported to violent crime. Many of those removed were asylum seekers or immigrants with pending legal cases.
A former senior DHS official, speaking anonymously, noted: “If the administration can claim a vague ‘foreign policy concern’ to deport anyone it dislikes, due process protections for immigrants could effectively cease to exist.”
Next Steps: A Legal Showdown Looms
The ACLU and other plaintiffs are demanding that Judge Boasberg enforce his order by holding the administration accountable for potential contempt of court. They have asked the court to require sworn declarations from government officials explaining:
- Whether flights took off after the ruling was issued.
- Whether immigrants were transferred to foreign governments after the ruling.
- Why the administration did not comply with the judge’s verbal directive to turn the planes around.
With the DOJ appealing Boasberg’s ruling and Trump’s continued invocation of wartime powers, the case could rapidly escalate to the Supreme Court.
“No matter what your stance on immigration, this should concern every American,” said Brett Max Kaufman, ACLU senior staff attorney. “If the courts cannot enforce their own rulings, we are entering a constitutional crisis.”
Who was it that said this regarding student loan forgiveness?
“The Supreme Court blocked it, but that didn’t stop me.”
So some rogue judge ordered that criminal aliens be brought back to our country and the Trump administration went ahead and deported them. Cry me a river…
The Justice Department made an *extraordinary* (I might have used a different adjective) argument to a federal judge today that an oral order he issued during a court hearing Saturday afternoon “is not enforceable.”