Trump said last month he could secure the return of a deported man by calling El Salvador’s president.
A federal judge said during a hearing on May 7 that he would ask the government to provide more information about the terms of its deal with El Salvador’s government under which dozens of Venezuelan nationals deported from the United States are being held in a mega-prison.
District Judge James E. Boasberg also questioned whether President Donald Trump was being truthful when he said last month that he could secure the return of a deported man by calling El Salvador’s president.
Boasberg
said he needed additional information to determine whether the U.S. government has what’s called “constructive custody” of the roughly 140 men who were deported to El Salvador in March under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, meaning it could return them if he ordered it.
The government, which deported the men as part of a crackdown on alleged gang members, has argued it cannot obtain custody of the deported individuals, who are currently being held in the Central American country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.
Boasberg referenced comments made by
Trump during a recent interview with ABC News, in which the president said he “could” return 29-year-old Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States simply by calling Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Abrego Garcia was imprisoned in El Salvador almost seven weeks ago.
U.S. authorities say he is an illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member. His family and attorneys have denied those claims.
“If he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that. But he is not,” Trump told ABC News. “I’m not the one making this decision ... If I were the president that just wanted to do anything, I'd probably keep him right where he is.”
Judge Questions Trump’s Comments
Boasberg asked the government’s lawyer, Abishek Kambli, if the comments made by Trump were truthful.“Didn’t the president say just last week that he could secure the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia simply by picking up the phone and asking the president of El Salvador to release him?” Boasberg
said. “So, is the President not telling the truth?”
Kambli said that and other public statements by Trump administration officials regarding the government’s relationship with El Salvador lacked “nuance.”
The attorney declined to provide Boasberg with any information about the administration’s deal with El Salvador’s president.
Following the March deportation flights, the Supreme Court unanimously
ruled that Trump could use the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime law, to deport alleged gang members. However, the nation’s highest court said deportees must be given an adequate chance to challenge their removal in court first.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is representing the Venezuelans, has asked Boasberg to order Trump to facilitate their return, arguing they were not given that chance.
Boasberg did not immediately rule on the ACLU’s request, but
said the group had likely established that the United States was still ultimately responsible for the incarceration of the illegal immigrants despite them being held in El Salvador.
While acknowledging that the men deported on the March flights did not get the chance to contest their removal, Kambli argued that Boasberg cannot conclude that the United States still has custody of the men.
If the U.S. government were to ask for the men to be returned, Kambli
said, “El Salvador can say, ‘No.’”
The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for further comment.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
