The Trump administration transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as efforts continue to end to the war in Ukraine, a move that could represent a possible pivot point in the conflict and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy.
Here’s the latest:
The Houthi rebels started attacking military and commercial ships in one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors shortly after the war in Gaza began between Hamas and Israel in October 2023.
The Houthis said they were targeting vessels on the Red Sea with links to Israel or its allies — the United States and the U.K. — in solidarity with Palestinians, but some vessels had little or no link to the war.
The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, until the current ceasefire in Gaza took effect in mid-January. Other missiles and drones were intercepted or failed to reach their targets, which included Western military ones.
▶ Read more about the Houthi rebels in Yemen
Trump on Saturday invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II, granting himself sweeping powers under a centuries-old law to deport people associated with a Venezuelan gang. Hours later, a federal judge halted deportations under Trump’s order.
The act is a sweeping wartime authority that allows non-citizens to be deported without being given the opportunity to go before an immigration or federal court judge.
Trump repeatedly hinted during his campaign that he would declare extraordinary powers to confront illegal immigration and laid additional groundwork in a slew of executive orders on Jan. 20.
His proclamation Saturday identified Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang as an invading force. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, blocked anyone from being deported under Trump’s proclamation for two weeks and scheduled a Friday hearing to consider arguments.
▶ Read more about the Alien Enemies Act
The crown jewel of El Salvador’s aggressive anti-crime strategy — a mega-prison where visitation, recreation and education aren’t allowed — became the latest tool in Trump’s crackdown on immigration Sunday, when hundreds of immigrants facing deportation were transferred there.
The arrival of the immigrants, alleged by the U.S. to be members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, took place under an agreement for which the Trump administration will pay the government of President Nayib Bukele $6 million for one year of services.
Bukele has made the Central American country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his fight against crime. In 2023, he opened the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where the immigrants were sent over the weekend even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring their deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members.
▶ Read more about El Salvador’s mega-prison
It’s a move that could represent a possible pivot point in the conflict and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy.
Trump disclosed the upcoming conversation to reporters while flying from Florida to Washington on Air Force One on Sunday evening, while the Kremlin confirmed Putin’s participation Monday morning.
“We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday,” Trump said. “A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday morning confirmed the plans for the two leaders to speak Tuesday, but refused to give details, saying “we never get ahead of events” and “the content of conversations between two presidents are not subject to any prior discussion.”
▶ Read more about efforts to end the war in Ukraine
According to the White House press office, Trump will participate in a board meeting for the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center at 3:00 p.m. eastern.
Trump is currently the chair of the Kennedy Center’s board. He announced his election as chair in February, after he ousted the arts institution’s leadership and filled the board of trustees with his supporters. Some artists have responded by canceling appearances.
Also on Monday’s schedule is the daily White House press briefing, which is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order Saturday temporarily blocking the deportations, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air — one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement Sunday, responded to speculation about whether the administration was flouting court orders: “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory.”
The acronym refers to the Tren de Aragua gang, which Trump targeted in his unusual proclamation that was released Saturday
▶ Read more about the deportations
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