A federal judge is questioning why President Donald Trump and his administration continued with the deportation of hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members despite a court order barring their deportation.
District Judge James E. Boasberg noted Monday that the Trump administration proceeded with the deportations despite knowing he was about to rule on the matter. The White House argued that Boasberg's order then couldn't apply to the flights since they had already left the U.S.
"That's one heck of a stretch," Boasberg replied, according to The Associated Press. The judge then reportedly gave the Trump administration until noon on Tuesday to inform him exactly what time the White House believes his order went into effect.
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The Trump administration has since defended the deportations, claiming it was an effort to rid the U.S. of a Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua (TdA).
“The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
On Sunday, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said 238 members of the gang arrived in his country and were transferred to the "Terrorism Confinement Center" for a year.
"As always, we continue advancing in the fight against organized crime. But this time, we are also helping our allies, making our prison system self-sustainable, and obtaining vital intelligence to make our country an even safer place," Bukele said.
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President Donald Trump thanked Bukele for accepting the suspected gang members and blamed former President Joe Biden for allowing them into the U.S.
"These are the monsters sent into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats. How dare they!" President Trump said. "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!"
President Trump signed an executive order late last week, giving himself the authority to act under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport the suspected gang members. While the judge put a pause on Trump's authority, his administration claims the planes were already in the air when the ruling came down.
