Must return Venezuelans sent to jail: US court orders Trump govt

Washington: The Donald Trump administration must make immediate arrangements to return the 137 Venezuelan men who were deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, a US judge ruled on Monday. The men were sent to prison, accused of having ties to criminal gangs, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

US District Judge James Boasberg observed that the men’s removal from the country violated due-process rights, and they are entitled to contest their deportation. The men must be provided with court hearings or returned to the US, the judge ruled.

Further, the judge ordered the Trump government to come up with a plan within two weeks for the men, who have since been returned to Venezuela in a prisoner swap, the Associated Press reported.

“Plaintiffs should not have been removed in the manner that they were, with virtually no notice and no opportunity to contest the bases of their removal, in clear contravention of their due-process rights,” Boasberg wrote.

It's the latest development in a case that's been a legal flashpoint in the administration's sweeping crackdown on immigration. It started in March, after Trump invoked an 18th-century wartime law to send Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members to a mega-prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.

Two planeloads of men were flown to the prison, despite a verbal order from Boasberg for the aircraft to turn around. Boasberg subsequently started a contempt investigation, though the dramatic battle between the judicial and executive branches has been paused by an appeals court.

The administration has denied violating his order.

More than 200 migrants were released back to Venezuela in a prisoner swap with the US in July.

The ruling from Boasberg, who was appointed to the federal bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, opens a path for them to challenge the allegation that they're members of the Tren de Aragua gang and subject to removal under the Alien Enemies Act.