(WASHINGTON) -- Attorneys for the Department of Justice argued at a hearing Monday that the deportation last month of four alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador did not violate a court order.
Justice Department lawyers argued that the removal of the four alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua did not violate a court order barring the removal of noncitizens to countries other than their place of origin without an opportunity to raise concerns about their safety, because the deportation was carried out by the Department of Defense and not the Department of Homeland Security.
"DHS was not on the flight," DOJ attorney Jonathan Guynn told U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy.
Murphy issued a court order on March 28 requiring that anyone with a final order of removal must have an opportunity to raise concerns about their safety before they are deported to a country that is not on their order of removal or is not their country of origin.
Three days after Judge Murphy's order, four Venezuelan men were flown from the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to El Salvador, according to a sworn declaration from an official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
At Monday's hearing, Trina Realmuto, an attorney for the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, pushed back on the DOJ's argument, saying that in previous memos, DHS has said it has legal and physical custody of migrants placed in Guantanamo Bay, and that DHS officials have said DOD provides "logistical support" for migrant detainees on the military base.
Realmuto requested that Judge Murphy modify his preliminary injunction to clarify that the temporary restraining order applies to people sent to Guantanamo, and also asked the judge to order the return of the four men who were sent to El Salvador.
Judge Murphy said he was not prepared to rule from the bench, and said there is a need for "factual development" on what type of notice the four Venezuelan men received before being sent to El Salvador.
He also said that he needs more information on the relationship between DHS and DOD.
The judge said he would make a decision by Wednesday on whether to modify the preliminary injunction requiring the Trump administration to give noncitizens the chance to raise concerns about their safety before they are removed to third countries.
The Trump administration has invoked the Alien Enemies Act -- an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- to deport alleged migrant gang members by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States.
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