The deportation to El Salvador of 250 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs raises serious legal concerns. On Saturday, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to authorize the expulsions. This is the first time the Alien Enemies Act has been used since World War II.
Federal judge James Boasberg blocked the operation on the same day. Despite this, the Administration confirmed on Sunday that the deportees had already been handed over to El Salvador. Axios revealed that the White House admitted to deliberately ignoring the court order. On Sunday, senior Justice Department officials argued in a filing however, that the order came too late to stop the deportations, as planes were already outside U.S. territory.
A hearing is expected as early as today, with another one later this week.
These legal proceedings are of extreme importance, as Trump aims to use them to take the case to the Supreme Court and secure a ruling that strengthens the theory of the “unitary executive,” potentially altering the balance of powers and putting the White House’s executive power above the judiciary and Parliament.
An excerpt from a 3-hour handout video from the Salvadoran presidency about the arrival in the country was shared by Trump on Truth Social. The images are shocking, showing bent shackled men in a high-surveillance environment. Trump commented, “These are the monsters sent into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats. How dare they! Thank you to El Salvador and, in particular, President Bukele, for your understanding of this horrible situation, which was allowed to happen to the United States because of incompetent Democrat leadership. We will not forget!”
MS-13 started in Los Angeles in the 1980s, but many of its members also operate in El Salvador and the Trump administration has also designated it as a foreign terrorist organization.
“Thanks to the great work of the Department of State, these heinous monsters were extracted and removed to El Salvador where they will no longer be able to pose any threat to the American People,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“Ooopsie… too late,” El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele posted, in response to a news headline about the judicial order.
With the migrants now in El Salvador, it’s unclear what jurisdiction U.S. courts have over them. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the timing of when the planes landed, or whether any migrants could be returned to the U.S. in response to the court’s order.
