Despite a US judge blocking the removals, the White House has deported hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members to a supermax jail in El Salvador.

Attorneys informed US District Judge James E. Boasberg that two aircraft carrying immigrants were already in the air, one bound for Honduras and the other for El Salvador, despite his order on Saturday temporarily halting the Trump administration’s deportations.

The command was not part of Mr. Boasberg’s written order, but he orally instructed the planes to turn back.

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Salvadoran police officers escorting alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua t to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Centre. Pic: Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/
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Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained March 16, 2025. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
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On Sunday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated: “A court order was not’refused to comply’ with by the administration.

“The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA (Tren de Aragua gang) aliens had already been removed from US territory.”

The Department of Justice, which has appealed Mr. Boasberg’s ruling, stated in a court filing on Sunday that if his ruling is not overturned, it will not utilize the Trump proclamation he halted for more deportations.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night, President Donald Trump avoided a question about whether his administration had broken a court order.

However, he went on: “I can tell you this. These folks were awful.

Salvadoran police officers process alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained March 16, 2025. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Image:
Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office
Salvadoran police officers cut the hair of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained March 16, 2025. Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Image:
Police officers cut the hair of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government. 
Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua t to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Centre. Pic: Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/
Image:
Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office

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