Trump administration live updates: It’s a ‘time of war,’ Trump says of deportations

The Trump administration has sent hundreds of Venezuelans — alleged Tren de Aragua gang members — to El Salvador, raising questions whether the deportations violated a federal judge’s order that temporarily blocked their removal under the administration invoking the Alien Enemies Act.

During a hearing Saturday evening, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., enjoined the removals of any Venezuelans already in U.S. custody and covered by the AEA proclamation, until further briefing over the administration’s use of the act.

Included in Boasberg’s oral ruling was an order that the government turn around any planes carrying people covered by the order that were in the air. During the hearing, the plaintiffs, represented by ACLU and Democracy Forward, told the court that they understood there to be at least two flights in the air heading for Honduras and El Salvador.

On Sunday, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted a video of officials in the country receiving 238 members of Tren de Aragua. “Oopsie, Too late,” Bukele posted on X in response to an article from the New York Post about Boasberg’s order to turn the flights around.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Bukele on X for receiving the migrants.

“We have sent 2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted back to face justice in El Salvador,” Rubio said. “Also, as promised by @POTUS, we sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars.”

Bukele said the migrants that arrived from the U.S. will be transferred to its Terrorism Confinement Center for “a period of one year.”

-ABC News’ Laura Romero, Katherine Faulders, Ely Brown and Peter Charalambous

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