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DHS Claims No Violation of Deportation Order Amid Controversy

Legal representatives for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contend that the agency has not breached a judicial directive regarding the deportation of individuals to countries other than their own. This assertion is based on the involvement of the Department of Defense in executing the deportations instead of DHS officials.

In a recent court filing, Justice Department attorney Mary Larakers articulated that the order issued by U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy on March 28, 2023, was not contravened. She underscored that the Defense Department is not a party to the ongoing lawsuit, thereby exempting it from the stipulations of the order.

Judge Murphy’s ruling prohibits the deportation of individuals to foreign nations once they have exhausted their legal appeals, unless they are adequately informed of their destination and allowed an opportunity to express any fears of torture or death upon arrival.

The challenges surrounding these deportations are magnified by the fact that certain countries do not accept an influx of deportees from the United States. Consequently, the Trump administration allied with countries like Panama to provide accommodations for these individuals. Some Venezuelans, categorized under the Alien Enemies Act, have been transferred to El Salvador, where they have been placed in a notorious prison.

In her filing, Larakers pointed out that four individuals were deported to El Salvador on March 31, just three days following Judge Murphy’s restraining order. She clarified that the removals were executed by the Defense Department without the involvement of DHS officials.

Additionally, two other individuals were deported to Mexico; however, Larakers noted that one of them had been sent back three days prior to the restraining order, and the other was removed on the morning of March 28, several hours before the order was enacted.

One of the individuals deported on March 28 was reportedly asked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers whether he was apprehensive about returning to Mexico, to which he responded that he was not concerned.

Larakers also shared a sworn statement from DHS official Tracy Huettl, which revealed that all deported individuals had prior convictions in the U.S. and had received removal orders from an immigration judge. The deportees who were sent post-court order had been held in ICE custody before their transfer to a detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, from where they were flown to El Salvador.

Source
abcnews.go.com