WASHINGTON — Officials from the Trump administration announced on Sunday the deportation of hundreds of individuals they claim are affiliated with a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador under the wartime Alien Enemies Act, following a judge’s temporary halt to this action on Saturday.
“The president utilized this authority to deport nearly 300 of them who are now in El Salvador, ensuring they are incarcerated where they should be, rather than wandering freely in American neighborhoods,” stated White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
It remains uncertain how the administration concluded that nearly 300 men were linked to the gang or whether they received U.S. court hearings or immigration proceedings, as the Alien Enemies Act permits the government to deport specific nationals during wartime without a trial.
On Saturday, a judge mandated that any deportation flights carrying individuals affected by the presidential proclamation return to the United States if they were already in transit. However, this ruling did not cover migrants who had already arrived in a foreign nation before the court order or those whose removal was based on other reasons apart from Trump’s proclamation.
The government mentioned in a filing on Sunday afternoon that “some gang members subject to removal under the Proclamation had already been expelled from United States territory” prior to the court’s order.
It is still unclear, however, if any of the deportees had already arrived in El Salvador before the judge’s ruling or if the Trump administration disregarded the order.
Leavitt denied any defiance of the court order on Sunday, stating that the judge’s ruling against deportation flights under Trump’s proclamation was issued after “terrorist [Tren De Aragua] aliens had already been expelled from U.S. territory.”
“There is no conflict between the written order and the Administration’s actions,” Leavitt said in a statement. “Additionally, as emphasized by the Supreme Court, federal courts typically possess no jurisdiction over the President’s foreign affairs conduct, his authorities under the Alien Enemies Act, and his essential Article II powers to remove foreign alien terrorists from U.S. soil and resist a declared invasion.”
Two senior officials from the Trump administration informed NBC News that they expect the legal battle surrounding the president’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to ultimately reach the Supreme Court, where they believe the administration will prevail.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a seldom-used authority, aiming to deport immigrants he claimed were part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Preceding Trump’s announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward had filed a lawsuit indicating that the administration intended to utilize the Alien Enemies Act to deport five Venezuelan men.
A federal judge initially granted a temporary restraining order to stop the deportation of the five men under the Alien Enemies Act, but later prohibited its usage for the deportation of all non-U.S. citizens in custody who fell under Trump’s proclamation.
“Any plane carrying these individuals that is set to depart or is currently airborne must return to the United States,” Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court James Boasberg stated on Saturday. “Those individuals must be brought back to the United States.”
According to a source familiar with the situation, two flights carrying Venezuelans were already in transit when the judge issued his ruling. However, NBC News was unable to confirm whether the flights turned back following the court order.
A blue “Global X” flight departed from Harlingen, Texas, on Saturday afternoon and landed at El Salvador International Airport about an hour after the judge’s order, as per an NBC News analysis of flight tracking data. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele shared a video on X on Sunday that seemingly showed numerous deportees being escorted off a blue “Global X” flight into the custody of heavily armed Salvadoran authorities.
NBC News has not verified whether the flights that landed in El Salvador with Venezuelans on board were among the two flights in the air at the time of the judge’s order.
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer representing the ACLU, stated on Sunday that his team sought “the government to confirm to the court that no one was removed in breach of the Order.” As of early afternoon, the government had not responded, according to Gelernt.
Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, remarked that should the administration be permitted to disregard a court order with “impunity,” the nation could be heading toward a constitutional crisis.
“Now that Congress has shown itself to comply with the desires of the White House, the judiciary serves as the final check against the exercise of autocratic power by the president,” Gillers expressed. “The challenge before the country is whether the judges will employ their contempt and other powers to resist the erosion of checks and balances to safeguard the rule of law.”
On Sunday, Trump administration officials celebrated the deportations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed appreciation to Bukele, noting in a statement that “he has volunteered to incarcerate these violent criminals.” Rubio claimed that “hundreds of violent offenders were expelled from our country.”
Leavitt also commended the deportations in a post on X, asserting that “thanks to the excellent efforts of the Department of State, these heinous individuals were extracted and sent to El Salvador where they can no longer present a threat to the American People.”
Neither Rubio nor Leavitt mentioned the judge’s order or provided details regarding the administration’s compliance.
Rubio further mentioned the desire to “eliminate Tren de Aragua members” during an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
When questioned about the arrest of activist Mahmoud Khalil and whether only individuals expressing support for Palestinians could have their visas revoked, Rubio referred to actions taken against Tren de Aragua.
“We want to eliminate members of the Tren de Aragua gang. They are terrorists as well,” Rubio asserted. “The president designated them — asked me to designate and I did, as a terrorist organization. We aim to rid ourselves of them too.”
Bukele stated in a post on X on Sunday that 238 members of Tren de Aragua were brought to the country “today.” Additionally, the U.S. deported 23 MS-13 members to El Salvador, Bukele noted. On the same day, Bukele shared an image of a headline concerning the judge’s order, captioning it, “Oopsie… Too late” along with a laughing emoji.
