The United States has sent over 200 immigrants, who are suspected to be members of a Venezuelan gang, to be jailed in El Salvador, according to President Nayib Bukele. This comes after US President Donald Trump invoked wartime laws to order their removal.
The deportations took place on Sunday, even though a US federal judge had temporarily stopped the expulsion order. It seems the planes were already on their way to El Salvador by then. Trump administration meanwhile said thar they are appealing the court order.
What is Trump deporting Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador despite US court ban?
Sharing a video of the transport of the prisoners on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump wrote, “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!”
Donald Trump had on Saturday said that the United States was being invaded by a Venezuelan gang. He invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law that gives the president more power to take action quickly, to speed up mass deportations. This could help him move forward with his promised crackdown on immigration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed questions on Sunday said that Trump’s administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. Instead she claimed that the order, had no legal basis, and was issued after the terrorist TdA members had already been removed from the US, reported the Associated Press.
Her statement also said that one judge in a city can’t control the actions of an aircraft carrier carrying foreign terrorists who were removed from US soil.
The term TdA refers to the Tren de Aragua gang, which Trump targeted in a special announcement released on Saturday.
The White House, which has called Tren de Aragua a terrorist group, planned to send around 300 suspected members to detention in El Salvador, as per AP. The Trump administration had agreed to pay El Salvador $6 million to keep about 300 alleged gang members in prison for one year.
In a court filing on Sunday, the Department of Justice, stated that it would not use Trump’s blocked proclamation for more deportations if the judge’s ruling stands.