The United States has deported more than 250 mainly Venezuelan alleged gang members to El Salvador, defying a federal judge's ruling to halt the flights. President Donald Trump controversially invoked the Alien Enemies Act, an 1798 law previously used to detain Japanese Americans during the Second World War, to justify the removals.
El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, confirmed that 238 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and 23 members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13 had arrived and were in custody. The US will pay El Salvador to hold them in its 40,000-capacity 'terrorism confinement centre' as part of the deal.
The deportations occurred hours after US district judge James Boasberg expanded his ruling temporarily blocking the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to speed up mass deportations. The White House argued the judge had no authority, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying 'A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft'.
Bukele posted 'Oopsie … Too late' online, followed by a laughing emoji. US secretary of state Marco Rubio thanked Bukele, stating the US had sent '2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted'. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, slammed the judge's stay, saying it disregarded presidential authority.
Legal experts and civil liberties groups contend Trump lacks the authority to use the law against a criminal gang. Patrick Eddington of the Cato Institute called the White House's actions 'beyond the pale and certainly unprecedented'. Republican senator Mike Rounds questioned whether the flights had ignored the court order, saying 'We'll find out whether or not that actually occurred'.
