White House denies violating court order on Venezuelan deportations

ISTANBUL (AA) – The White House has denied claims that it defied a judge’s order halting the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.

The controversy centers on the deportation of Venezuelan migrants under the rarely invoked 18th-century Alien Enemies Act—an unusual and contentious move that could signal an overreach by US President Donald Trump, CNN reported.

US District Judge James Boasberg temporarily halted the deportations on Saturday to assess the legality of using the act, instructing that any flights already in progress should return to the US.

On Sunday however, the administration confirmed that 250 deportees reportedly linked to the Tren de Aragua gang were already in custody in El Salvador.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt issued a statement later that evening, further fueling speculation about whether officials had disregarded the judge’s order.

“The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order,” Leavitt said. “The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist (Tren de Aragua) aliens had already been removed from US territory.”

“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 US soil,” she added.

Leavitt’s mention of the migrants having already left US soil without clarifying when they arrived in El Salvador raised questions.

Trump responded on Sunday night, saying: “I can tell you this: these were bad people. That was a bad group of, as I say, hombres.”

Asked whether his administration had defied court orders, he replied: “You’d have to speak to the lawyers about that.”