President Donald Trump's initiative to swiftly deport Venezuelans to El Salvador hit another roadblock on Monday as ACLU attorneys filed a lawsuit seeking to block the removal of Colorado detainees.
Concretely, the lawyers claim the men have been erroneously identified as members of the Venezuelan-born Tren de Aragua. They are backing their request in the Supreme Court ruling from last week, which did not ban the administration from enforcing the deportations under the wartime Alien Enemies Act, but did establish that people targeted must be given time to challenge the decision and undergo judicial review.
The lawyers have recent precedent to back their request as they claim the men are "in imminent danger" of being deported and "transferred outside of the district of Colorado." Last week, a Texas judge blocked three deportations under the Alien Enemies Act citing the Supreme Court ruling.
"In the present matter, the Court finds that the removal" of the alleged gang members "or any other individual subject to the Proclamation, by the United States would cause immediate and irreparable injury to the removed individuals, as they would be unable to seek habeas relief," the judge said in a passage of his decision.
"Furthermore, if the United States erroneously removed an individual to another country based on the Proclamation, a substantial likelihood exists that the individual could not be returned to the United States," the judge added.
The Trump administration is set to continue seeking to enforce deportations, with the president meeting with Salvadoran counterpart Nayib Bukele on Monday. In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump wrote, "Looking forward to seeing President Bukele, of El Salvador, on Monday! Our Nations are working closely together to eradicate terrorist organizations, and build a future of Prosperity."
Trump acknowledged that El Salvador has accepted custody of "some of the most violent alien enemies of the World and, in particular, the United States," referring to individuals who have been detained and transferred to a high security prison in El Salvador. "These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign Nation," Trump said. "They will never threaten or menace our Citizens again!"
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also defended the decision, visiting the country's infamous CECOT prison and saying those imprisoned should remain there permanently.
"We're confident that people that are [imprisoned in El Salvador] should be there, and they should stay there for the rest of their lives," Noem said following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) event reported by Axios. She cited intelligence from immigration enforcement, the State Department, and other agencies as the basis for the decision.
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