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)

The Trump administration transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as efforts continue to end to the war in Ukraine, a move that could represent a possible pivot point in the conflict and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy.

Here's the latest:

The measure, approved by Republican majorities in the House and Senate, eliminates a federal fee on companies that release high levels of methane, a planet-warming “super pollutant.”

The fee, which hadn’t gone into effect, was expected to bring in more than $7 billion over the next decade and lower U.S. methane emissions, averting thousands of early deaths and tens of thousands of asthma attacks and lost school days every year.

Methane is a much stronger global warming gas than carbon dioxide, especially in the short term. Oil and gas producers are among the biggest U.S. methane emitters.

Republicans said the fee would inflate energy prices, reduce domestic energy production and empower U.S. adversaries.

After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. and posted his decision Friday on social media, South African embassy staff were summoned to the State Department and given a formal diplomatic note explaining the move, the department said.

“We made the embassy aware that Ambassador Rasool has been found unacceptable by the United States to be a representative of his country,” the department said.

It said Rasool’s diplomatic privileges and immunities expired Monday and he would be required to leave the United States by March 21. It isn’t clear if he’s in the U.S. now.

Rubio announced his decision in a post on X, accusing Rasool of being a “race-baiting politician” who hates President Trump.

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed to halt deportations under a rarely-used 18th century wartime law invoked by President Trump asked a federal judge Monday to force officials to explain under oath whether they violated his court order by removing more than 200 people from the country after it was issued and celebrating it on social media.

The motion marks another escalation in the battle over Trump’s aggressive opening moves in his second term, several of which have been temporarily halted by judges. Trump’s allies have raged over the holds and suggested he doesn’t have to obey them, and some plaintiffs have said it appears the administration is flouting court orders.

▶ Read more about the Trump administration’s deportations

McGregor appeared in the briefing room alongside press secretary Karoline Leavitt, where he criticized his country’s government as having “abandoned the voices of the people of Ireland.” He said there was “zero action with zero accountability,” and complained about the “illegal immigration racket.”

His comments come days after Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin visited the White House to meet with President Trump.

McGregor has faced legal problems of his own. He was ordered to pay 250,000 Euros ($257,000) to a woman who sued him for sexual assault. McGregor denied the accusations.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was planning to promote his new book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning,” but is rescheduling after some liberal groups shared plans to stage protests.

A representative for Schumer’s book, Risa Heller, said that the tour would be rescheduled “due to security concerns.”

The cancellations of events in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and other cities came amid widespread criticism from the party’s liberal base over Schumer’s vote to move forward with Republican spending legislation last week.

Schumer said the bill was “terrible” but that a shutdown would have been far worse, and difficult to get out of, as Trump has already slashed jobs and funding for agencies across the government.

U.S. shoppers stepped up their spending a just bit in February after a sharp pullback the previous month, signaling Americans are shopping more cautiously as concerns about the direction of the economy mount.

Retail sales rose just 0.2% in February, a small rebound after a sharp drop of 1.2% in January, the Commerce Department said Monday. Sales rose at grocery stores, home and garden stores, and online retailers. Sales fell at auto dealers, restaurants, and electronics stores.

The small increase suggests Americans may be growing more wary about spending as the stock market has plunged and Trump’s tariff threats and government spending cuts have led to widespread uncertainty among consumers and businesses.

▶ Read more about U.S. retail sales

The Sunday meeting came two days after Jeffries publicly criticized Schumer over a vote to move forward on Republican spending legislation.

The two New Yorkers met in Brooklyn, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

Schumer announced Thursday that he would join with Republicans on a key procedural vote to move the spending legislation to final passage. He said that the bill was “terrible” but that a shutdown would be far worse, and Democrats would not have an “off ramp” to get out of it.

Jeffries strongly disagreed and repeatedly declined to answer questions Friday about whether he has confidence in Schumer.

“We do not want to shut down the government. But we are not afraid of a government funding showdown,” Jeffries said.

The meeting was first reported by Punchbowl News.

— Mary Clare Jalonick

The Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China — some already in place, others set to take effect in a few weeks — are already driving up the cost of building materials used in new residential construction and home remodeling projects.

The tariffs are projected to raise the costs that go into building a single-family home in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Such costs are typically passed along to the homebuyer in the form of higher prices, which could hurt demand at a time when the U.S. housing market remains in a slump and many builders are having to offer buyers costly incentives to drum up sales.

▶ Read more about how tariffs are raising building costs

But the calm may not last with a decision coming this week on interest rates from the Federal Reserve and worries continuing about President Trump’s trade war.

The S&P 500 was up 0.2% early Monday. The index is coming off its fourth straight losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 97 points, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%.

Stocks have been tumbling on worries that Trump’s rat-a-tat announcements on tariffs and other policies are creating so much uncertainty that they’ll push U.S. households and businesses to freeze their spending.

▶ Read more about the financial markets

The Houthi rebels started attacking military and commercial ships in one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors shortly after the war in Gaza began between Hamas and Israel in October 2023.

The Houthis said they were targeting vessels on the Red Sea with links to Israel or its allies — the United States and the U.K. — in solidarity with Palestinians, but some vessels had little or no link to the war.

The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, until the current ceasefire in Gaza took effect in mid-January. Other missiles and drones were intercepted or failed to reach their targets, which included Western military ones.

▶ Read more about the Houthi rebels in Yemen

Trump on Saturday invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II, granting himself sweeping powers under a centuries-old law to deport people associated with a Venezuelan gang. Hours later, a federal judge halted deportations under Trump’s order.

The act is a sweeping wartime authority that allows non-citizens to be deported without being given the opportunity to go before an immigration or federal court judge.

Trump repeatedly hinted during his campaign that he would declare extraordinary powers to confront illegal immigration and laid additional groundwork in a slew of executive orders on Jan. 20.

His proclamation Saturday identified Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang as an invading force. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, blocked anyone from being deported under Trump’s proclamation for two weeks and scheduled a Friday hearing to consider arguments.

▶ Read more about the Alien Enemies Act

The crown jewel of El Salvador’s aggressive anti-crime strategy — a mega-prison where visitation, recreation and education aren’t allowed — became the latest tool in Trump’s crackdown on immigration Sunday, when hundreds of immigrants facing deportation were transferred there.

The arrival of the immigrants, alleged by the U.S. to be members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, took place under an agreement for which the Trump administration will pay the government of President Nayib Bukele $6 million for one year of services.

Bukele has made the Central American country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his fight against crime. In 2023, he opened the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where the immigrants were sent over the weekend even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring their deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members.

▶ Read more about El Salvador’s mega-prison

It’s a move that could represent a possible pivot point in the conflict and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy.

Trump disclosed the upcoming conversation to reporters while flying from Florida to Washington on Air Force One on Sunday evening, while the Kremlin confirmed Putin’s participation Monday morning.

“We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday,” Trump said. “A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday morning confirmed the plans for the two leaders to speak Tuesday, but refused to give details, saying “we never get ahead of events” and “the content of conversations between two presidents are not subject to any prior discussion.”

▶ Read more about efforts to end the war in Ukraine

According to the White House press office, Trump will participate in a board meeting for the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center at 3:00 p.m. eastern.

Trump is currently the chair of the Kennedy Center’s board. He announced his election as chair in February, after he ousted the arts institution’s leadership and filled the board of trustees with his supporters. Some artists have responded by canceling appearances.

Also on Monday’s schedule is the daily White House press briefing, which is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order Saturday temporarily blocking the deportations, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air — one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement Sunday, responded to speculation about whether the administration was flouting court orders: “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory.”

The acronym refers to the Tren de Aragua gang, which Trump targeted in his unusual proclamation that was released Saturday

▶ Read more about the deportations

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 waves from the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Monday, March 17, 2025 (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)