The administration under President Trump has deported numerous Venezuelans alleged to be gang members to a prison located in El Salvador, seemingly pushing the boundaries of U.S. immigration laws, especially after a federal judge instructed that the deportation flights should be halted.
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador shared a three-minute video on social media on Sunday, showing handcuffed individuals disembarking from a plane at night and being escorted into prison. The footage also captures prison staff shaving the inmates’ heads.
“Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal group, Tren de Aragua, have arrived in our country,” Mr. Bukele stated, adding that “The United States will incur a minimal cost for them, but the expense for us will be significant.”
The Trump administration aims to employ this unusual prisoner transfer agreement—not a swap, but a pact for El Salvador to accept suspected gang members—as a preliminary step towards leveraging the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to swiftly arrest and deport individuals identified as belonging to Tren de Aragua, sidestepping many typical legal processes associated with immigration cases.
The Alien Enemies Act allows for expedited deportations of individuals from nations at war with the United States. Historically known for its involvement in the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, this law has been invoked three times throughout U.S. history—during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II—according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a policy and law organization.
On Saturday, Federal District Court Judge James E. Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order barring the government from deporting any immigrants under this law following President Trump’s executive order invoking it.
In a rapid hearing requested by the American Civil Liberties Union, the judge expressed skepticism regarding the legality of the president’s action and mandated that any flights carrying Venezuelan immigrants under Trump’s executive order return to the U.S.—“however that’s accomplished—whether turning around the plane or not,” he stated.
“You must ensure compliance with this order immediately,” he emphasized.
A government attorney, Drew Ensign, informed the judge that he lacked detailed information and suggested that revealing operational specifics could raise “national security issues.”
The timing of the flights to El Salvador is crucial, as Judge Boasberg issued his order shortly before 7 p.m. in Washington, while video from El Salvador shows the deportees disembarking from the plane at night. Given that El Salvador is two time zones behind Washington, it raises concerns about whether the Trump administration disregarded a clear court order.
On Sunday, Mr. Bukele shared a screenshot on social media pertaining to Judge Boasberg’s order, captioning it, “Oopsie… Too late.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized the judge on Saturday night in a written statement, claiming he had favored “terrorists over the safety of Americans” and that his order “disregards established authority regarding President Trump’s powers, endangering both the public and law enforcement.”
Officials from both nations disclosed that the agreement with the Trump administration also encompassed the extradition of suspected MS-13 gang members held in the U.S. awaiting charges.
“We have sent two dangerous top MS-13 leaders along with 21 of its most wanted back to El Salvador to face justice,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on social media on Sunday. He added that “over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua” were also deported to El Salvador, which “has agreed to hold them in their secure jails at a reasonable fee.”
Two of these MS-13 defendants are accused of being senior figures in the international criminal organization.
The Trump administration has encountered difficulties in deporting Venezuelans, with hundreds of thousands of them having entered the United States amid a surge in migration in recent years.
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is one of the few regional leaders whose government has not consistently accepted deportation flights from the United States due to a breakdown in diplomatic relations. Since President Trump assumed office, Mr. Maduro has fluctuated on whether his government will welcome its deported citizens.
Last month, the United States transported groups of Venezuelans to the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, labeling some of them as gang members. However, on February 20, the Trump administration suddenly repatriated all Venezuelan migrants from the base, transferring them through Honduras, with one individual returned to an immigration facility in the United States.
El Salvador had also positioned itself as a viable option for deported Venezuelans. In early February, during a visit by Mr. Rubio, Mr. Bukele expressed his willingness to accept deportees of any nationality, including those with criminal records, vowing to house them within the country’s prison system.
Mr. Rubio, who announced Mr. Bukele’s offer, stated that the Salvadoran president had consented to detain “any illegal alien in the United States who is a criminal of any nationality, whether affiliated with MS-13 or Tren de Aragua.”
Tim Balk contributed reporting.
