White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt denied on Sunday that the Trump administration had defied a ruling by District of Columbia Judge James Boasberg. A day earlier, Boasberg had temporarily blocked the use of an 18th-century law permitting the wartime deportation of enemies of the United States, which had been applied to Venezuelan citizens allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua criminal organization.
The judge also issued a verbal — not written — order for two ongoing deportation flights to return immediately. One of those flights, carrying approximately 261 migrants, landed in El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele later released a video touting his tough stance on the arrivals.
In a statement, Leavitt argued that the judge’s order was issued only after the aircraft had already left U.S. airspace, dismissing concerns that the executive branch had chosen to defy the judiciary — a fear some experts have voiced since Trump’s return to power. Leavitt said the order “had no lawful basis” and argued that federal courts “lack jurisdiction” over the president’s foreign policy decisions and his authority to expel foreign enemies.
“A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil,” said Leavitt.
The plane that arrived in El Salvador carried a total of 261 undocumented immigrants. Of these, 137 were deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, while another 101 Venezuelans were removed under Title 8, an immigration law. The remaining passengers included 21 Salvadoran members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, and two high-ranking leaders of that criminal organization.
