Trump invokes 18th century law to speed deportations, judge stalls it hours later

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge barred the Trump administration Saturday from carrying out deportations under a sweeping 18th century law that the president invoked hours earlier to speed removal of Venezuelan gang members from the United States.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg said he needed to issue his order immediately because the government already was flying migrants it claimed were newly deportable under President Donald Trump’s proclamation to be incarcerated in El Salvador and Honduras. El Salvador already agreed this week to take up to 300 migrants that the Trump administration designated as gang members.

“I do not believe I can wait any longer and am required to act,” Boasberg said during a Saturday evening hearing in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and Democracy Forward. “A brief delay in their removal does not cause the government any harm,” he added, noting they remain in government custody but ordering that any planes in the air be turned around.

The ruling came hours after Trump claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was invading the United States and invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime authority that allows the president broader leeway on policy and executive action to speed up mass deportations.

The act has only ever been used three times before, all during wars. Its most recent application was during World War II, when it was used to incarcerate Germans and Italians as well as for the mass internment of Japanese-American civilians.

In a proclamation released just over an hour before Boasberg's hearing, Trump contended that Tren de Aragua was effectively at war with the United States.

“Over the years, Venezuelan national and local authorities have ceded ever-greater control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations, including TdA,” Trump’s statement reads. “The result is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States, and which poses a substantial danger to the United States.”

The order could let the administration deport any migrant it identifies as a member of the gang without going through regular immigration proceedings, and also could remove other protections under criminal law for people the government targeted.

In a statement Saturday night, Attorney General Pam Bondi slammed Boasberg’s stay on deportations. “This order disregards well-established authority regarding President Trump’s power, and it puts the public and law enforcement at risk,” Bondi said.

The Tren de Aragua gang originated in a prison in the South American country and accompanied an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, the overwhelming majority of whom were seeking better living conditions after their nation’s economy came undone last decade. Trump and his allies have turned the gang into the face of the alleged threat posed by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and formally designated it a “foreign terrorist organization” last month.

Authorities in several countries have reported arrests of Tren de Aragua members, even as Venezuela’s government claims to have eliminated the criminal organization.

The government said Trump actually signed the proclamation on Friday night. Immigration lawyers noticed the federal government suddenly moving to deport Venezuelans who they would not otherwise have the legal right to expel from the country, and scrambled to file lawsuits to block what they believed was a pending proclamation.

Boasberg issued an initial order at 9:20 a.m. Saturday blocking the Trump administration from deporting five Venezuelans named as plaintiffs in the ACLU suit who were being detained by the government and believed they were about to be deported. The Trump administration appealed that order, contending that halting a presidential act before it has been announced would cripple the executive branch.

If the order were allowed to stand, "district courts would have license to enjoin virtually any urgent national-security action just upon receipt of a complaint,” the Justice Department wrote in its appeal.

Boasberg then scheduled the afternoon hearing on whether to expand his order to all people who could be targeted under Trump's declaration.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign contended that the president had broad latitude to identify threats to the country and act under the 1798 law. He noted the U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Harry Truman to continue to hold a German citizen in 1948, three years after World War II ended, under the measure.

“This would cut very deeply into the prerogatives of the president,” Ensign said of an injunction.

But Lee Gelernt of the ACLU contended that Trump didn't have the authority to use the law against a criminal gang rather than a recognized state. Boasberg said precedent on that question seemed tricky but that the ACLU had a reasonable chance of success on those arguments, and so the order was merited.

Boasberg halted deportations for those in custody for up to 14 days, and scheduled a Friday hearing in the case.

The flurry of litigation shows the significance of Trump's declaration, the latest step by the administration to expand presidential power. Ensign argued that, as part of its reaction to the Sept. 11, 2001 attack, Congress had given the president power to delegate “transnational” organizations threats on the level of recognized states. And Gelernt warned that the Trump administration could simply issue a new proclamation to use the Alien Enemies Act against another migrant gang, like MS-13, which has long been one of Trump's favorite targets.

Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks along the southern border with Mexico, on Aug. 22, 2024, in Sierra Vista, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 14, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 14, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 14, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

FILE - Henry Carmona, 48, right, who fled Venezuela after receiving death threats for refusing to participate in demonstrations in support of the government, stands with friends and a reporter following a press conference by Venezuelan community leaders to denounce changes to the protections that shielded hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, including Carmona, from deportation, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday “aimed at eliminating” the U.S. Education Department.

On immigration, a federal judge ordered the administration to provide more information about flights that took deportees to El Salvado r, or make a formal “state secrets“ claim. The Justice Department has resisted, accusing the judge of encroaching on the executive branch’s “absolute and unreviewable” authority relating to national security and foreign policy. Trump’s border czar has tallied 40,000 immigration-related arrests since Trump got into office.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has negotiated the release of an American hostage held for more than two years by the Taliban.

Thursday’s decision from Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland also requires Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency team to delete any personally identifiable Social Security data it may have.

Labor unions and retirees asked for the emergency order, saying DOGE’s “nearly unlimited” access violates privacy laws and presents massive information security risks.

The Trump administration says seven people on the 10-member DOGE team inside the Social Security Administration have been granted read-only access to agency systems or personally identifiable information.

▶ Read more about the challenge to DOGE’s access to Social Security data

The administration has pushed back by 30 days a Friday deadline for New York to end a new $9 toll on most drivers entering Manhattan.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says on X that “discussions continue” on the administration’s demand.

Duffy rescinded the toll’s federal approval last month. The toll is meant to relieve traffic congestion while providing millions of dollars in revenue to New York City’s beleaguered transit system.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has filed a lawsuit challenging the order.

New York started charging the fee on Jan 5.

▶ Read more about Trump’s objections to the toll

NAACP President Derrick Johnson says the Trump administration’s move is part of a larger effort to dismantle the country’s democracy and that only Congress has the power to establish or get rid of an agency.

Johnson says attacks on public education conform to efforts to privatize essential services like education.

“Let’s be clear — this executive order is unconstitutional, but to Donald Trump, the rule of law doesn’t seem to matter,” Johnson says in a statement.

“This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education, including those in poor and rural communities with parents who voted for Trump.”

Trump’s order is “dangerous and illegal” and will disproportionately hurt low-income students, students of color and those with disabilities, says Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

The department “was founded in part to guarantee the enforcement of students’ civil rights,” Scott says.

Supporters of Trump’s vision for education welcome the order.

“No more bloated bureaucracy dictating what kids learn or stifling innovation with red tape,” Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, said on social media. “States, communities, and parents can take the reins — tailoring education to what actually works for their kids.”

Trump’s order is “dangerous and illegal” and will disproportionately hurt low-income students, students of color and those with disabilities, says Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

The department “was founded in part to guarantee the enforcement of students’ civil rights,” Scott says.

Supporters of Trump’s vision for education welcome the order.

“No more bloated bureaucracy dictating what kids learn or stifling innovation with red tape,” Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, says on social media. “States, communities, and parents can take the reins — tailoring education to what actually works for their kids.”

▶ Read more about Trump’s Education Department order

Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Beyer represents the Virginia district where Badar Khan Suri was arrested by masked immigration agents, told his visa had been revoked and flown to a detention facility in Louisiana pending deportation.

Suri, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was accused of “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” a Homeland Security official tweeted.

“The ’justification’ given for these violations of Mr. Suri’s right to due process is another violation of the Constitution: a blatant attack on the First Amendment,” Beyer said in a statement.

A filing by Suri’s lawyer says federal authorities provided no evidence he’s committed any crimes.

“The Trump Administration has openly expressed its intention to weaponize immigration law to punish noncitizens whose views are deemed critical of U.S. policy as it relates to Israel,” attorney Hassan Ahmad wrote.

▶ Read more on the Georgetown scholar’s case

Some of the accused Venezuelan gang members suddenly deported last weekend and sent to a notorious El Salvadoran prison after Trump invoked a sweeping wartime law were targeted because of everyday tattoos, defense lawyers say in legal filings.

Among those tattoos: A crown over a soccer ball; an eyeball that the lawyers say “looked cool”; flowers.

U.S. officials have said agents did not rely on “tattoos alone” to identify gang members. But lawyers say tattoos were repeatedly used to argue the men belonged to the gang Tren de Aragua.

While tattoos are central to membership in some Central American gangs, experts say they’re not required by the Tren.

Sensitive personal information including Social Security numbers was unveiled in the newly unredacted John F. Kennedy assassination documents released this week.

White House officials say the administration will offer credit monitoring to those whose information was disclosed and will screen the records to identify all the Social Security numbers that were released. Officials also say new Social Security numbers will be issued to those affected.

The White House did not respond to questions about why the personal information was unredacted.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says “the National Archives and the Social Security Administration immediately put together an action plan to proactively help” those affected.

▶ Read more about personal information released in JFK files

William Lai Ching-te told the American Chamber of Commerce on Thursday that to face the rising threat from China, his self-governing island will buy more U.S. equipment and expand its military by offering higher pay and lengthening compulsory national service from four months to one year.

U.S. and Taiwanese critics have said Taiwan is not spending enough on its own defense. Taiwan currently spends about 2.45% of its GDP on its military, and relies on the U.S. for much of its cutting-edge weaponry.

Trump has demanded that Taiwan increase defense spending as high as 10% of GDP, a proportion well above what the U.S. spends, to deter China.

▶ Read more about the Taiwanese president’s speech.

Nowhere has the president’s spontaneity complicated his legal positions more than in challenges of Elon Musk’s efforts to downsize and overhaul the federal government.

The latest example came when a federal judge ruled that Musk likely violated the Constitution by dismantling USAID. Justice Department lawyers and White House officials insist that the billionaire is merely a presidential adviser, not DOGE’s actual leader.

But Trump has said otherwise — in speeches, interviews and public remarks — and Judge Theodore Chuang Chuang quoted him extensively in his decision.

▶ Read more on how Trump’s own words complicate his legal defenses

Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner is leaving his post at the nation’s passenger railroad.

The leadership change appeared to come down to Amtrak maintaining support from Trump. Gardner’s statement Wednesday said he’s stepping down “to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration.”

Billionaire Elon Musk floated the idea of privatizing Amtrak at a tech conference earlier this month. And, citing sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported Wednesday that Gardner was asked to step down at Trump’s request.

The railroad declined to comment further when reached by the AP Thursday.

▶ Read more on the Amtrak CEO’s abrupt resignation

Stablecoins are an increasingly popular type of cryptocurrency because their value is tied to other assets such as traditional currencies or gold to reduce volatility.

Trump said in a virtual address to a blockchain forum on Thursday that “with the dollar-backed stablecoins, you’ll help expand the dominance of the U.S. dollar.”

“It’ll be at the top” for many, many years to come, the president added. “And that’s where we want to keep it.”

“The president made it very clear to Hamas that if they did not release all of the hostages there would be all hell to pay,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “And unfortunately Hamas chose to play games in the media with lives.”

“This situation, let’s not forget, is completely the fault of Hamas. When they launched that brutal attack on Israel on October 7th. And the president has made it very clear that he wants all of those hostages to come home. And he fully supports Israel and the IDF and the actions that they’ve taken in recent days.”

Israel resumed heavy bombardment of Gaza on Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire. Overnight airstrikes struck several homes and killed at least 85 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

▶ Read more on the latest Israeli bombardment across Gaza

So they tried to get ahead of a global trend toward autocracies.

The Global Philanthropy Project, a network of funders for LGBTQ+ people internationally, quietly launched a campaign called “Fund Our Futures” in 2024. By November they had secured more than $100 million.

But even those that anticipated Trump’s reelection didn’t expect the wholesale termination of most U.S. foreign aid.

And now, major funders of human rights work are worried their assets could get frozen, according to Kellea Miller, who directs the Human Rights Funders Network.

“The scale and rapidity of it is beyond what most of us had imagined,” Miller said.

▶ Read more about how LGBTQ and human rights groups tried to prepare for Trump

The man in charge of President Trump’s border policies says they’ve made about 40,000 immigration-related arrests since Trump got into office.

Tom Homan said the vast majority were “public safety threats and national security threats.”

Homan was speaking at a panel discussion in Florida with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Chad Wolfe, who was an acting head of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration.

Homan said Trump’s decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act was the “right thing to do” even if his administration has been sued over it. He vowed that immigration arrests would continue.

The Treasury Department accused the China-based oil refinery Luqing Petrochemical and its CEO Wang Xueqing of buying from ships linked to the militant Houthi group and Iran’s military and refining hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed the sanctions on a total of 19 firms and ships that transport millions of barrels of Iranian oil.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is committed to denying revenue that enables “Tehran’s continued financing of terrorism and development of its nuclear program.”

The Trump administration has promised maximum pressure to drive Iran’s oil exports, including to China, to zero.

Vice President JD Vance said “terrorism is not cheap” as he speculated that the continuing vandalism of Tesla automobiles is being coordinated.

He said Thursday during an interview on “The Vince Show” that the focus should be on “the guy at the top writing the checks,” not on the “foot soldiers” trashing the cars.

“My guess is that if we do get to the bottom of this, we’re going to find out that there are some very crazy, very deranged, but very wealthy left-wing people who are funding this stuff,” he said.

Tesla owner Elon Musk has become a target as he cuts federal spending and slashes the workforce at Trump’s behest.

The secretary of state’s statement says Glezmann is returning to the U.S. to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra.

“George’s release is a positive and constructive step,” Rubio said. “President Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world.”

President Joe Biden had contemplated a proposal involving the release of Glezmann and other Americans for Muhammad Rahim, a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but told families during a call in January that the Taliban would have to release Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Habibi.

U.S. officials believe the Taliban is holding Habibi, but the Taliban has denied it.

A fact sheet says Trump’s executive order also directs Secretary Linda McMahon to “ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely” while facilitating the closure.

The department manages $1.6 trillion in federal student loans and billions of dollars in programs for colleges and school districts, from school meals to support for homeless students to civil rights enforcement.

It adds up to roughly 14% of public school budgets, often for supplemental programs for vulnerable students, across school systems that advocates say remain fundamentally unequal.

“This isn’t fixing education. It’s making sure millions of children never get a fair shot. And we’re not about to let that happen without a fight,” the National Parents Union said in a statement.

George Glezmann was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist.

His release was brokered by U.S. and Qatari negotiators, the State Department said Thursday.

The airline mechanic from Atlanta is the third American detainee to be released by the Taliban since January. He was seized by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022.

He was being accompanied back to the U.S., through Qatar’s capital, Doha, by Adam Boehler, who has been handling hostage issues for President Donald Trump’s administration.

Most countries don’t recognize the Taliban’s rule. Glezmann’s release is part of what the Taliban has described as the “normalization” of ties following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

▶ Read more on the American hostage released by the Taliban

Trump in an interview with Breitbart News called India “one of the highest tariffing nations in the world.”

The president has developed a warm relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but has promised steep tariffs on friend and foes alike in an attempt to equalize what he says is an uneven economic playing field.

Trump is targeting April 2 — what he’s calling “Liberation Day” — to impose new tariffs on imports from around the globe.

He said India won’t be immune: “I believe they’re going to probably going to be lowering those tariffs substantially, but on April 2, we will be charging them the same tariffs they charge us.”

The equity goal of the Education Department, which was created by Congress in 1979, emerged partly from the anti-poverty and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

But as the Trump administration moves to dismantle it, officials have suggested other agencies could take over its major responsibilities: civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department, perhaps; student loans to Treasury or Commerce; oversight of student disability rights to Health and Human Services.

Advocates are worried about what could happen with a more lofty part of the department’s mission — promoting equal access for students in an American education system that is fundamentally unequal. Without the department, they’re concerned that the federal government would not look out in the same way for poor students, those still learning English, disabled students and racial and ethnic minorities.

▶ Read more about the impact of this dismantling of the Education Department

Badar Khan Suri was determined to be deportable for “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said late Wednesday on X.

A Georgetown statement says the Indian national was “duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan” while studying at the university’s center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

“We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention,” the school said. “We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”

▶ Read more on the Georgetown scholar’s detention

That’s according to the Labor Department’s latest tally of jobless claims filings, showing they rose by 2,000 last week to slightly less than the 224,000 new applications analysts forecast.

The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of March 8 rose by 33,000 to 1.89 million.

Economists don’t expect the Trump administration’s federal workforce layoffs to appear until the March jobs report.

▶ Read more about unemployment and layoff numbers

Across wine country in France, Italy and Spain one number is top of mind: 200%.

That’s because last week Trump threatened a tariff of that amount on European wine, Champagne and other spirits if the European Union went ahead with retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. products. The top wine producers in Europe could face crippling costs that would hit smaller wineries especially hard.

Europe’s wine industry is the latest to find itself in the crosshairs of a possible trade spat with the U.S.

Italy, France and Spain are among the top five exporters of wine to the United States. Trump made his threat to Europe’s alcohol industry after the European Union announced a 50% tax on American whiskey expected to take effect on April 1. That duty was unveiled in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum.

▶ Read more about the possible tax on foreign liquor

The White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity before the announcement, said Trump plans to sign the order on Thursday.

Finalizing the elimination of the Department of Education would require an act of Congress.

But a White House fact sheet said the order would direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

Associated Press reporter Chris Megerian contributed.

In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, the Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures — which will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with the agency over the phone.

Beginning March 31st, people will no longer be able to verify their identity to the SSA over the phone and those who cannot properly verify their identity over the agency’s “my Social Security” online service, will be required to visit an agency field office in person to complete the verification process, agency leadership told reporters Tuesday.

The change will apply to new Social Security applicants and existing recipients who want to change their direct deposit information.

Retiree advocates warn that the change will negatively impact older Americans in rural areas, including those with disabilities, mobility limitations, those who live far from SSA offices and have limited internet access.

▶ Read more about changes being made to social security

Maine’s education office is being ordered to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports or face federal prosecution, an escalation in Trump’s threats to pull federal money from states and schools over transgender athletes.

The Education Department on Wednesday said an investigation concluded Maine’s education office violated the Title IX antidiscrimination law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls’ sports teams and use girls’ facilities. It’s giving Maine 10 days to comply with a list of demands or face Justice Department prosecution.

The federal investigation was opened Feb. 21, just hours after Trump and the state’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, clashed over the issue at a meeting of governors at the White House. During the heated exchange, Mills told the Republican president, “We’ll see you in court.”

▶ Read more about the investigation into Maine’s Department of Education

People gather to protest against Israel and President Donald Trump in front of a Trump-branded building Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

People rally at the University of California, Berkeley campus to protest the Trump administration Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)