“The Exciting 24-Hour Journey of Venezuelan Migrants Towards Freedom”
In a lengthy presidential address on a Friday afternoon, amid discussions about various topics, President Donald Trump announced the arrest of hundreds of members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He hinted at upcoming news about their fate, describing them as tough and dangerous individuals being removed from the country.
Trump’s speech set the stage for a whirlwind sequence of events involving secret flights, a notorious prison, conflicting identities, and a clash between his presidential authority and a federal judge. The President cited the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify the deportation of over 130 Venezuelan men, leading to a rapid turnaround within 24 hours.
After the detainees were discreetly transported to South Texas, chartered planes were arranged to fly them to El Salvador under an agreement with President Nayib Bukele. Upon arrival, they were placed in a high-security prison, where they were subjected to dehumanizing procedures.
However, questions arose regarding the legitimacy of the arrests. Some of the men claimed innocence and presented evidence of their clean records. The rushed and controversial actions drew criticism, with concerns raised about due process and the treatment of individuals who had not been convicted of any crimes.
For the Trump administration, this operation was the fulfillment of a longstanding promise to address immigration issues using the powers granted by the Alien Enemies Act. By portraying groups like Tren de Aragua as a national security threat, the administration laid the groundwork for these drastic measures.
As government flights signaled the deportations to El Salvador, immigration lawyers prepared to challenge the legality and ethics of the operation. The unfolding events underscored the complexities and controversies surrounding the enforcement of immigration policies in the current political landscape.
Several individuals had arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, with three of them originating from Alexandria, Louisiana, which serves as a central location for the state’s network of immigration detention centers. However, it was not until Saturday, March 15, that a retired financial executive in Ohio noticed something out of the ordinary. Tom Cartwright, a flight data analyst for the advocacy group Witness at the Border, observed two flights scheduled from Harlingen to El Salvador, a rare occurrence for deportation flights on a Saturday. This unusual pattern raised concerns for Cartwright as he monitored immigration activities closely through social media channels.
Further investigation revealed that in the previous week, Venezuelan men detained in immigration centers across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and other locations were being transported by bus and plane towards ICE’s El Valle Detention Facility near the Harlingen airport. Among these men was a makeup artist who had fled Venezuela due to political repression and homophobia, hoping to start a new life in the U.S. He encountered difficulties during his journey when questioned about his tattoos, which were mistakenly associated with a gang known as Tren de Aragua.
Tattoos played a significant role in identifying many deported men as members of Tren, leading to their transfer to detention centers. Despite denying any affiliation with the gang, the makeup artist found himself detained by ICE and eventually moved to a facility in Laredo, Texas, close to the Harlingen airport. The situation escalated on Friday, March 14, when Texas immigration lawyer Javier Maldonado was caught off guard by the sudden deportation orders issued to a group of Venezuelan men at the El Valle Detention Center. The men were abruptly informed of their deportation, with uncertain destinations and little information provided.
As tensions rose and the Alien Enemies Act loomed over the detainees, Maldonado found himself unexpectedly immersed in a flurry of activities, deviating from his planned administrative tasks. The events surrounding the mass deportations underscored the challenges and uncertainties faced by individuals caught in the complex web of immigration enforcement.
The passengers were informed that their flight had been canceled, and they were assured that they would depart soon. However, a few individuals reached out to family members or legal representatives. Within a matter of hours, an informal legal network sprang into action, involving a lawyer in Brooklyn, a law school professor in Los Angeles, and a University of Florida law student working with an El Paso immigrant advocacy organization. These individuals collaborated with Texas lawyers, including Maldonado, who would file petitions in federal court. Maldonado noted that there is a relatively small group of lawyers who engage in this type of legal work.
Even undocumented individuals entering the U.S. have rights. Some of the men being represented by the lawyers possess Temporary Protected Status, a legal designation that provides protection from deportation to around 350,000 Venezuelans. Communication between the lawyers and detainees often faced challenges, with messages sometimes relayed through relatives in Venezuela. Despite the chaos, one man stated that guards had made it clear that the order from the president was to deport all individuals.
President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act while traveling on Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. His proclamation highlighted that Tren de Aragua was allegedly attempting an invasion or predatory incursion of the U.S. Although the administration remained silent publicly, news spread about planned flights to El Salvador. A Texas lawyer captured footage of a bus leaving the El Valle facility under police escort, presumably heading to the airport.
Though Trump’s utilization of the law had not been officially announced, legal advocacy groups such as the ACLU and Democracy Forward felt compelled to file preemptively. Lead attorney Lee Gelernt of the ACLU emphasized the urgency of their efforts to prevent detained Venezuelans from being wrongly labeled as members of Tren and deported. They crafted legal arguments meticulously and ultimately submitted a petition to the U.S. District Court in Washington in an attempt to halt all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.
Following a temporary restraining order issued by Judge James E. Boasberg in response to the ACLU’s lawsuit, events in Texas began to unfold rapidly. Detainees at the El Valle detention center were instructed by guards to board buses for the airport around 3:30 p.m. The subsequent flights carried a total of 261 deportees, including 137 Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act, 101 under other immigration regulations, and 23 El Salvadoran MS-13 gang members.
As the situation escalated, the White House released Trump’s proclamation around 4 p.m. Despite Boasberg’s order to halt the deportations, the Trump administration appeared to ignore the directive to turn the planes back. Boasberg, during a subsequent Zoom hearing, raised concerns about impending deportations under the new proclamation. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign was unable to provide flight details, prompting Boasberg to issue a renewed order to stop the deportations.
The enforcement of this rule dates back centuries. He specifically emphasized that all aircraft in the sky must return immediately. “This is a matter that needs to be addressed promptly,” he informed Ensign. It was around 6:45 p.m. At that time, two ICE Air planes were en route across the Gulf of Mexico towards Central America, but neither altered their course. They made a brief stop in Honduras before their final leg to El Salvador. Panic spread among the passengers when the doors opened and they realized their destination. Many were aware of the notorious reputation of El Salvador’s prisons. “Everyone was terrified,” recounted a Nicaraguan woman who was mistakenly boarded onto the flight, in a legal statement upon returning to the U.S. “Some individuals had to be forcefully removed from the plane.” The subsequent events were later depicted in a musical release by the El Salvadoran government, which shared videos showing shackled men struggling to walk as they were escorted with force to the Terrorism Confinement Center, also known as CECOT prison. The following day, Bukele, the president of El Salvador, tweeted a headline from the New York Post announcing that Boasberg had ordered the planes to turn back. “Oopsie… Too late,” Bukele humorously commented, along with a laughing/crying emoji. The Trump administration is now seeking permission from the Supreme Court to resume the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. Boasberg may soon decide whether anyone should be held in contempt of court for defying his orders. Meanwhile, Romero, the makeup artist, remains detained somewhere in CECOT.
