Trump's Deportation Flights Under the Alien Enemies Act
On Saturday, March 15, the ACLU, Democracy Forward, and ACLU of D.C. filed a lawsuit in an effort to block the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to carry out mass deportations. The lawsuit was filed after President Trump secretly invoked the AEA and before the administration made the invocation public.
Just hours later, a court-ordered temporary restraining order blocked the AEA deportations and ordered any deportation flights to return immediately. But hours after Judge Boasberg’s verbal and written orders were issued, deportation flights landed in El Salvador and the Trump administration transferred hundreds of men to a prison notorious for its flagrant human rights abuses and indefinite detention.
One of these men was our client Andry Hernández Romero, who came to the United States seeking safety from political persecution and anti-LGBTQ violence in Venezuela, and instead was sent to a brutal prison in a Salvadoran prison without due process.
Shut Down the ICE Detention Machine | American Civil Liberties Union
Shut Down the ICE Detention Machine | American Civil Liberties Union
The government has repeatedly evaded Judge Boasberg’s simple questions about its actions, and has now flatly refused to answer them, claiming that details about the flights, which can largely be corroborated through public information and Cabinet secretaries’ own social-media posts, involve “state secrets.”
The question of whether the judge’s orders were violated will be determined by the courts — but on April 16, Judge Boasberg ruled that there is "probable cause" to find the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court for violating his order to return any deportation flights to the United States, saying: "Those individuals were on planes being flown overseas, having been spirited out of the United States by the Government before they could vindicate their due-process rights by contesting their removability in a federal court, as the law requires."
Here’s everything we know about Trump’s unlawful and unprecedented invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and the deportation flights on March 15.
February
February 20
Donald Trump signs an executive order designating the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization.
February — March
ICE begins transferring detained Venezuelans from across the country to detention facilities near the airfield in Harlingen, Texas where the deportation flights would depart.
March
March 14
Donald Trump signs the proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) in secret.
March 15 — 1:15 am
The ACLU, Democracy Forward, and ACLU of D.C. file a class action lawsuit with five Venezuelans as named plaintiffs, in an effort to block the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to arrest and deport Venezuelans accused of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
March 15 — 9:40 am
Chief Judge James E. Boasberg issues a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from deporting the five named plaintiffs and schedules a hearing at 5 pm to determine if the order should be expanded to include the class: everyone the Trump administration is subjecting to the AEA.
March 15 — 3:53 pm
The Trump administration finally makes the proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act public.
March 15 — Sometime prior to Saturday’s hearing
ICE begins boarding the deportation flights. Lawyers and family members of those on board the flights are not notified that they are about to be sent to a prison in El Salvador. Some people put on the flights were reportedly told they were being deported back to Venezuela.
March 15 — 5:00 pm
The first court hearing on the legality of Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act begins.
Judge Boasberg asks the government’s attorney: “Can you tell us [...] are imminent deportations and removals under this proclamation planned?”
The Justice Department (DOJ) attorney replies: “Your Honor, I don't know the answer to that question [...] I can certainly talk to them ASAP and see. You know, it is Saturday.”
ACLU lead counsel Lee Gelernt argues: “I recognize it's Saturday, but on the other hand, the government appears to be moving planes very rapidly to El Salvador with hundreds of people. So we hope that in the next five minutes, counsel for the government can get an answer to that. Our understanding from people on the ground, from different sources, is that planes are going right now taking Venezuelans to El Salvador and may be ending up in a Salvadoran prison.”
March 15 — 5:22 pm
Judge Boasberg adjourns the hearing until 6 pm to allow the government’s attorney to find out whether deportations were imminent.
March 15 — 5:26 pm
The first deportation flight takes off from Harlingen, Texas.
March 15 — 5:44 pm
The second deportation flight takes off.
March 15 — 6:00 pm
Judge Boasberg resumes the hearing and asks the government attorney for his report. The DOJ attorney replies: “Your Honor, unfortunately I don't have many details to share. I have talked to the clients who let me know the sort of operational details as to what is going on with raised potential national security issues.”
March 15 — 6:48 pm (approximately)
Judge Boasberg says he will grant the TRO to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. He also orders deportation flights to be stopped and for any flights currently in the air to return to the United States:
“Particularly given the plaintiffs' information unrebutted by the government that flights are actively departing and plan to depart, I do not believe that I am able to wait any longer and that I am required to act immediately, which I have done so. So, [government counsel], the first point is that I -- that you shall inform your clients of this immediately, and that any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States, but those people need to be returned to the United States. However that's accomplished, whether turning around a plane or not embarking anyone on the plane or those people covered by this on the plane, I leave to you. But this is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately.”
March 15 — 7:26 pm
The judge issued a written order.
March 15 — 7:36 pm
The third deportation flight takes off. The government will later tell the Court no one on the third flight was removed “solely” under the Alien Enemies Act. Kilmar Ábrego García — a husband and father who was legally living in Maryland and had been granted protection against being removed to El Salvador — was on this flight due to what the Trump administration themselves admitted was an "administrative error.”
March 16 — 12:10 am
The first deportation flight lands in El Salvador.
March 16 — 12:18 am
The second deportation flight lands in El Salvador.
March 16 — 1:08 am
The third deportation flight lands in El Salvador.