A federal judge ruled the Trump administration broke the law by flying over a hundred Venezuelan migrants to a counter-terrorism prison in El Salvador. Judge James Boasberg found the deportations were rushed by wrongly labeling the migrants as "alien enemies," calling it a tactic to avoid judicial review. The court said officials knew the migrants could end up in the notorious CECOT facility.
The order gives the government two weeks to present a plan for providing due process. This could mean bringing people back to the United States or offering proceedings abroad. The situation is complicated because the deportees were later moved from El Salvador to Venezuela in a prisoner exchange months after their initial removal.
This legal decision happens against a backdrop of heightened tensions with Venezuela. The administration had recently announced a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers headed to the country and labeled the Maduro government a foreign terrorist organization. The president had also issued a direct warning to Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro about potential consequences.
The order gives the government two weeks to present a plan for providing due process. This could mean bringing people back to the United States or offering proceedings abroad. The situation is complicated because the deportees were later moved from El Salvador to Venezuela in a prisoner exchange months after their initial removal.
This legal decision happens against a backdrop of heightened tensions with Venezuela. The administration had recently announced a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers headed to the country and labeled the Maduro government a foreign terrorist organization. The president had also issued a direct warning to Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro about potential consequences.
