A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration must allow Venezuelan men deported to a mega prison in El Salvador to return to the U.S. to challenge their removal, including disputing alleged gang ties.
The decision by Judge James Boasberg stems from a lawsuit filed by more than 100 Venezuelan men deported in March under the Alien Enemies Act after being accused of ties to the Tren de Aragua. The men sought to block their removal while a court challenge was pending, but were deported before a ruling. Multiple courts later found the removals unlawful, holding that the Alien Enemies Act still requires due process for individuals disputing alleged gang affiliations.
“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. 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,” Boasberg wrote. “Expedited removal cannot be allowed to render this relief toothless. 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 to either facilitate the men’s return to the U.S. or provide hearings that meet due process requirements.
Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union, who represents the plaintiffs, called the decision a victory for men who have consistently denied any ties to Tren de Aragua.
“After enduring months of torture, these men will finally get the due process they deserve, notwithstanding the Trump administration’s underhanded attempts to deny them any opportunity to content the accusations that they are gang members,” Gelernt said in a statement to The Hill.
The Trump administration returned 252 Venezuelan men in July who had been held at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador, including 137 who are part of the legal challenge to their deportation. Many were labeled gang members based largely on tattoos. Boasberg said it is irrelevant that the men are no longer held at CECOT, noting that they continue to face “collateral consequences” arising from their removal under the Alien Enemies Act.
NEW: Jeb Boasberg’s unending sympathy for and defense of illegal Venezuelans tied to Tren de Aragua hits another fever pitch as he rules in favor of 137 illegals sent to El Salvador then back to Venezuela under the Alien Enemies Act.
Boasberg again claims their constitutional… pic.twitter.com/marUPv4lsA
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) December 22, 2025
Breaking: Judge Boasberg orders Trump admin to allow Venezeulans deported to El Salvador to return to the US https://t.co/KPeQcnTgls
— Just the News (@JustTheNews) December 23, 2025
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