Federal District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled Monday that the Trump administration must allow Venezuelan men who were deported earlier this year to return to the United States to fight allegations they were part of violent gangs.
The group of men challenging their deportations include migrants who were deported to a prison in El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act in March, over allegations that they were members of Tren de Aragua. Boasberg ruled in June that they could challenge the allegations.
Multiple courts have since ruled that hundreds of deportations were illegal because the government still needs to provide due process, even under the AEA, according to The Hill.
“The Court finds that the only remedy that would give effect to its granting of Plaintiffs’ Motion would be to order the Government to undo the effects of their unlawful removal by facilitating a meaningful opportunity to contest their designation and the Proclamation’s validity,” Boasberg wrote. “Otherwise, a finding of unlawful removal would be meaningless for Plaintiffs, who have already been sent back to Venezuela against their wishes and without due process.
“Expedited removal cannot be allowed to render this relief toothless,” he continued. “If secretly spiriting individuals to another country were enough to neuter the Great Writ, then ‘the Government could snatch anyone off the street, turn him over to a foreign country, and then effectively foreclose any corrective course of action.’”
The ruling gives the Trump administration until Jan. 5, 2026, to secure the return of over 100 Venezuelan men.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
