Boasberg orders return of Venezuelan deportees challenging Alien Enemies Act removal
Judge Boasberg certified a class of 137 Venezuelan migrants deported under the Alien Enemies Act and mandated hearings or returns by Jan. 5 to address due process violations.
- On December 22, 2025, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to submit plans by January 5 to return or provide hearings for over 100 migrants at CECOT mega-prison, Tecoluca, El Salvador.
- President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act on March 15, 2025 to target members of Tren de Aragua, and the government flew two planeload removals to CECOT.
- The court certified the March 15 removals as a class after ACLU and Democracy Forward argued the Alien Enemies Act was illegally invoked, with Boasberg writing it's clear the class was denied due process.
- Boasberg said the court retained jurisdiction because the U.S. maintained custody while imprisoned in El Salvador, but the Justice Department argued he overstepped and a federal appeals court granted an emergency stay this month.
- Planes arrived in El Salvador despite the temporary restraining order, and more than 200 migrants sent to CECOT were later returned to Venezuela in a prisoner swap; the government had sent several planeloads including 137 people under the statute.
34 Articles
34 Articles
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration must grant due process to Venezuelan migrants transferred to a notorious prison in El Salvador, either by providing them with court hearings or returning them to the United States. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the government to submit a plan within two weeks for the migrants, who have since been returned to Venezuela in a prisoner exchange.
Judge rules Trump administration must allow court challenges for Venezuelan migrants sent to prison
A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration must give legal due process to Venezuelan migrants flown to a notorious prison in El Salvador, either by providing court hearings or returning them to the U.S. Judge James Boasberg ordered the government to come up with a plan within two weeks.
Judge orders Trump administration to file plan to return Venezuelans sent to El Salvador prison to U.S. or give them hearings
A federal judge gave the Trump administration two weeks to submit a plan to either return a group of men previously held at a notorious Salvadoran prison to the U.S., or give them a hearing to contest allegations of gang membership.
Federal judge orders Trump officials to give due process to illegally expelled Venezuelans
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has ordered the Trump administration to give hearings to 137 Venezuelans who were improperly expelled from the United States and shipped out on mass deportation flights to the Salvadoran CECOT megaprison in March under the Alien Enemies Act.Chief Judge James Boasb...
Judge Orders Administration to Share Plans for Deportees to El Salvador Prison
A federal judge in Washington ruled on Monday that the Trump administration had to either help bring back to the United States a group of Venezuelan immigrants who were deported to El Salvador in March and subsequently sent back to their homeland or give them a chance to contest their expulsions in the U.S. courts. The ruling by the judge, James E. Boasberg, was the latest twist in the long-running saga of the Venezuelan men who were expelled fr…
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