WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Civil rights groups on Monday sought “immediate clarification” from the Trump administration about weekend flights deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members from the U.S. despite a judge’s order, saying the U.S. government may have violated the court.
In a filing overnight, the American Civil Liberties Union and others called on the U.S. District Court in Washington to compel President Donald Trump’s administration to provide information on whether any flight took off after the judge’s written or oral orders were issued as well as other details about the flight’s timing.
“Whether or not the planes had cleared U.S. territory, the U.S. retained custody at least until the planes landed and the individuals were turned over to foreign governments,” the ACLU and Democracy Forward Foundation wrote.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration said it had deported more than 200 Venezuelans, saying in an extraordinary statement that a judge did not have the authority to block its actions.
Judge James Boasberg had issued a 14-day block on Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act’s wartime powers to rapidly deport 238 alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has been linked to kidnapping, extortion and contract killings.
Reuters had not confirmed the full breadth of the deportation operations, and the administration provided few details in its court filing on Sunday.
While the Trump administration has variously described the Venezuelans as gang members, “monsters,” or “alien terrorists,” the ACLU has previously said that is a false portrayal.
Boasberg, in a hearing on Saturday evening, said any flights carrying migrants under the law should return, with his written order posting online at 7:25 p.m. ET (23:25 GMT).
Trump and the White House have defended the flight despite the court’s order as within the administration’s rights, while some legal experts have countered that the White House is openly defying the judge.
“A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft … full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement over the weekend.
Trump separately told reporters aboard Air Force One the alleged gang members “were bad people” but deferred to lawyers when asked whether his administration had violated the court order.
On Monday, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said the flight was already in international airspace, not U.S. territory, when the judge’s orders came and that more flights would continue.
“Once you’re outside the border, you know, it is what it is. But they’re in international waters, already on the way south, close to landing. You know what? … We did what we had to do,” he told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” program.
Asked what was next, Homan said: “Another flight, another flight every day,” adding: “We’re not stopping. I don’t care what the judges think.”
(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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