In a critical legal confrontation, the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to suspend a court ruling that mandates due process rights for Venezuelan immigrants recently deported under dubious wartime laws.
Justice Department Appeals to Block Due Process for Deported Venezuelans
Justice Department Appeals to Block Due Process for Deported Venezuelans
Emergency measure follows a controversial deportation under wartime laws.
June 10, 2025, 5:00 p.m. ET – In a dramatic turn of events, the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal on Tuesday aiming to prevent enforcement of a lower court’s decision that requires due process be afforded to a group of Venezuelan immigrants who faced expedited deportation to El Salvador without hearings. This appeal was lodged just one day before the administration was required to present a plan that would allow nearly 140 deportees to dispute their expulsion.
The controversial deportation occurred on March 15 when the men, alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua, were removed from the U.S. and sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Their deportation relied on the Alien Enemies Act, a historical statute typically activated during periods of war, thus marking one of the rare instances it has been applied in American history.
This legal struggle is emblematic of larger tensions between the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies and the judicial system’s insistence on upholding basic legal rights for immigrants. Judges nationwide have consistently ruled that due process must be afforded to individuals before any removal from the country occurs.
The case has been particularly contentious, with Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge of the Federal District Court in Washington, expressing urgency to halt the flights that were transporting these individuals. Despite his objections, the administration proceeded with the deportations, prompting the judge to threaten contempt proceedings against Trump officials.
Since their arrival in El Salvador, the deportees’ legal representatives have continuously sought intervention to bring them back to the U.S. Last week, Judge Boasberg granted their pleas to some extent by directing the U.S. government to devise a process for granting the deported individuals the rights they were initially denied, leaving the outlined plan up to the administration for compliance.
The controversial deportation occurred on March 15 when the men, alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua, were removed from the U.S. and sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Their deportation relied on the Alien Enemies Act, a historical statute typically activated during periods of war, thus marking one of the rare instances it has been applied in American history.
This legal struggle is emblematic of larger tensions between the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies and the judicial system’s insistence on upholding basic legal rights for immigrants. Judges nationwide have consistently ruled that due process must be afforded to individuals before any removal from the country occurs.
The case has been particularly contentious, with Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge of the Federal District Court in Washington, expressing urgency to halt the flights that were transporting these individuals. Despite his objections, the administration proceeded with the deportations, prompting the judge to threaten contempt proceedings against Trump officials.
Since their arrival in El Salvador, the deportees’ legal representatives have continuously sought intervention to bring them back to the U.S. Last week, Judge Boasberg granted their pleas to some extent by directing the U.S. government to devise a process for granting the deported individuals the rights they were initially denied, leaving the outlined plan up to the administration for compliance.
