At least 300 alleged Venezuelan gang members, who had illegally migrated to the United States have been deported to a supermax prison in El Salvador, as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to combat escalating organized crime.
The deportation, as stated by the White House, aims to dismantle and disrupt the sophisticated networks of transnational criminal organizations, thereby preventing international trafficking, reducing violence, and promoting regional stability.
The transfer of these immigrants, mandated by an executive order signed by Trump months after his inauguration, defies U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s order to halt such actions.
Boasberg had issued an order two days back, temporarily blocking the Trump administration deportations, however, lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air, one headed for El Salvador and another for Honduras.
During a press conference with newsmen yesterday, the U.S. president sidestepped a question over whether his administration violated a court order saying I can tell you this. These were bad people.
Asked about invoking presidential powers used in times of war, Trump said: “This is a time of war.” while describing the influx of criminal migrants as an invasion.
The immigrants were deported after Trump declared the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has been used only three times in US history, during the War of 1812 and the First and Second World Wars.
