Trump administration says it sent 4 alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador despite court order

Source: ABC News

The Trump administration is acknowledging it deported four noncitizens to El Salvador despite a court order barring the removal of people to countries other than their place of origin without an opportunity to raise concerns about their safety.

In a series of court filings overnight, Justice Department lawyers argued that the court order was not violated because the removal of four alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was carried out by the Department of Defense -- not the Department of Homeland Security, which is a defendant in the lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Brian 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 so-called "third country" that is not on their order of removal or their country of origin.

Three days after Judge Murphy's order, the four men -- who are originally from Venezuela -- were flown from U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to El Salvador, according to a sworn declaration from Tracey Huettl, a unit chief for field operations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-4-alleged-migrant-gang-members-el/story?id=121121717