They flew because it was ordered – Judge rejects wartime law logic

Federal Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington has drawn clear limits for the Trump administration and expressed serious doubts about the use of a historic wartime law for deportations. James E. Boasberg made clear in a multi-hour hearing that the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was created for war or an actual invasion, not for sweeping measures against migrants without proceedings. Applying the law to Venezuelan nationals who are broadly accused of gang membership is, in his view, legally problematic. Particularly serious for the court is the fact that those affected have no real opportunity to contest these allegations.

The judge also announced that he would continue to investigate whether the government disregarded his order to halt deportation flights. Two aircraft are said to have continued on to El Salvador despite a judicial order to return. Boasberg described the government’s cooperation as insufficient and said he wanted to determine whether his order was violated and who was responsible. At the same time, he sharply criticized the tone of the Justice Department in written filings as disrespectful and unusually aggressive.

The case now stands for a fundamental conflict between the executive and the judiciary. The government argues that courts have only limited authority to review the president’s assessment of war or invasion. Lawyers for those affected counter that the law is being used as a blunt instrument to carry out deportations without effective oversight. Even the reference to an emergency petition offers no protection if people have already been removed from the country.

At the same time, the government is pushing back against judicial oversight and has publicly attacked the judge, including calls for impeachment. Boasberg remains unimpressed. He indicated that he is even considering an independent review process to determine whether the people slated for deportation are actually who the authorities claim they are. The dispute makes clear how far-reaching the confrontation over power, law, and the limits of state action has become.

Our report at the time from the in-between world

The responsible U.S. federal judge James Boasberg had already tried at that time to stop the application of the law. When flights nevertheless went ahead, he spoke of a violation of his order and demanded that the aircraft be turned back. The Department of Homeland Security responded that the planes were already outside U.S. airspace and that intervention was no longer possible. Trump himself tried to distance himself from the affair. Speaking to journalists, he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been responsible for the operation:

“Marco wanted them out. We went along with it.”

A sentence that raises more questions than it answers. Because whether president or minister, only the president is authorized under the Alien Enemies Act to sign such a proclamation and it must be published. The legal and political significance cannot be underestimated. Judge Boasberg sharply criticized the Justice Department, which refused to release further information to him citing national security. Boasberg:

“I will get to the bottom of this.”

So will we. After days of painstaking work, flight movements were analyzed, legal foundations examined, archival material reviewed, and statements from the environment of the White House obtained. The full documentation and all materials relating to the proclamation, the exact flight routes, and the relevant registry entries from the Federal Register were compiled and at that time submitted to the competent court in Washington, D.C. Because this was not just about a law from the 18th century. It is about people, about the rule of law, and about the question of whether a state is willing to abide by its own rules or only when they suit it.

Legal short memorandum on the validity of the presidential proclamation of March 14, 2025

Facts:

Deportation of Venezuelan migrants between March 15 and 18, 2025 on the basis of a presidential proclamation signed on March 14, 2025 but not published in the Federal Register until March 20, 2025. Legal framework: Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. § 1505): Provisions of general applicability become legally effective only upon publication in the Federal Register. Without such publication, application to affected third parties is not permissible. Alien Enemies Act (50 U.S.C. § 21–24): Explicitly requires a presidential proclamation. According to established administrative practice, this must be published in order to serve as a basis for executive measures.

Legal assessment: The deportations between March 15 and 18, 2025 occurred before the proclamation became legally effective. There is no exception in U.S. law that permits the application of unpublished proclamations to third parties. Therefore, the deportations are not based on a legally valid foundation and can be legally characterized as unlawful.

Here are the names of the people who were deported.

It was a clear day in Harlingen, Texas, when the planes lifted off – almost casually, almost like any other aircraft at a regional airport more accustomed to agricultural machinery than to international conflicts. But aboard the three GlobalX flights were no tourists, no business travelers – they were men. 238 Venezuelans. Young. Invisible. And from now on, officially enemies.

They flew because someone had decided that they must fly. Because an old clause, born from fear of Jacobins and Royalists in the year 1798, stripped them of their humanity. The Alien Enemies Act – dragged from the mothballs of American history, reinterpreted, activated – declared them wartime adversaries. They were neither armed nor charged. They hadn’t even been heard. And yet – three flights, three destinations, one goal – El Salvador. CECOT. The prison that knows no word for mercy.

It was March 15, 2025, and somewhere in Washington a court hearing was underway at the same hour. A federal judge had wanted to stop the flight. But while lawyers were still speaking, the planes had already taken off. The government – as it is later stated in a court document – had been “unable to provide information for reasons of national security.” Two flights left Harlingen between 5:25 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. A third followed thereafter. On the papers: flight numbers 6143, 6145, 6122.

What followed was not a repatriation but a transfer into darkness. In El Salvador, no authorities awaited them – but heavily armed units. The men were dragged out, loaded into transporters, shaved bald, imprisoned. No one knows what they have seen since. Whether they are allowed to speak. Whether they cry.

Now the list is available. The names of the 238 men who were deported because it was claimed they were members of a gang whose name has by now become a global political pretext – Tren de Aragua. For many families, the truth came by chance – a news video, a blurry image from inside CECOT, a Facebook post. The U.S. government says that some of these men had prior convictions. And at the same time – many did not.

That is the essence of this era. Innocence does not have to be disproven, it only has to be asserted away. What counts is the order. The flight. The deportation. The function of force, disguised as order. Through laborious investigative work, flight manifests, passenger data, AWS keys were assembled, with the help of some computer collectives included.

GlobalX – the charter airline that draws $65 million a year from a lucrative contract with CSI Aviation – declined to comment. ICE also remained silent. In truth, no one needs a statement anymore. The planes have flown. The men are gone. And the law that expelled them was not the law of justice – but the law of opportunism.

Perhaps one day someone will say they did something wrong. Perhaps not. Perhaps they were simply born in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps they were simply there.

Here are many of their names. Each of them a whole person. And now – a number in a flight log, a file, a face behind bars.

Agelviz Sanguino, Widmer Josneyder
Aguilar Rodriguez, Nolberto Rafae
Aguilera Aguero, Gustavo Adolfo
Albornoz-Quintero, Henrry
Alvarado Borges, Neri
Angulo-Aparicio, Jinder
Aray-Cardona, Jose
Arregoces Rincon, Jose
Azuaje Perez, Nixon Jose
Barreto Villegas, Rolando
Bastidas Venegas, Jose
Basulto-Salinas, Marcos
Batista-Arias, Elvis
Belloso Fuenmayor, Alirio
Benavides Rivas, Yornel Santiago
Blanco-Bonilla, Andry
Blanco-Marin, Angel
Bolivar Cruz, Angel
Bracho Gomez, Victor
Brazon-Lezama, Javiar
Briceno-Gonzalez, Jose
Briceno-Gonzalez, Jean
Bustamante-Dominguez, Robert
Cabrera-Rico, David
Canizalez Arteaga, Carlos
Caraballo Tiapa, Franco
Cardenas-Silva, Johan
Carmona Bastista, Yorbi
Carmona Hernandez, Jose
Cedeno Contreras, Bruce Embelgert
Cedeno-Gil, Andrys
Chacin Gomez, Jhon
Chirinos Romero, Wild
Chivico Medina, Carlos
Colina Arguelles, Rosme
Colina Caseres, Miguel
Colina-Suarez, Alejandro
Colmenares Solorzano, Leonardo Jose
Colmenarez Abreu, Aldo
Contreras-Gonzalez, Yordano
Cornejo Pulgar, Frizgeralth De Jesus
Corrales-Moreno, Emilio
Davila Fernanadez, Luis
Delgado Pina, Aldrin
Depablos Requena, Jheison
Diaz-Lugo, Kleiver
Duarte Rodriguez, Richard
Duran Perez, Joseph Gregory
Echavez-Paz, Leonel
Elista-Jimenez, Robert
Escalona Carrizo, Yender
Escalona Sevilla, Angelo
Escobar Blanco, Pedro
Escobar Falcon, Yolfran
Fernandez Sanchez, Julio Rafael
Fernandez, Yohan
Fernandez-Subero, Mikael
Flores Jimenez, Wilken Rafael
Flores Rodriguez, Jose
Flores-Lopez, Jose
Fonseca Daboin, Cristhofer
Fuenmayor-Crespo, Roneil
Garcia Casique, Francisco
Garcia Prado, Leonardo
Giron Maurera, Richard
Gonzalez Troconis, Julio
Gonzalez Frailan, Jose Leon
Gonzalez Fuenmayor, Angel Jesus
Gonzalez Pineda, Oscar
Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Charlie
Graterol-Farias, Winder
Gualdron Gualdron, Luis
Gualtero Quiroz, Deibin
Guerrero Padron, Keivy
Guevara Munoz, Wilvenson
Guiterrez-Sierra, Wilker
Gutierrez Flores, Merwil
Hernandez Carache, Yeison
Hernandez Carache, Darwin Gerardo
Hernandez Herrera, Edwuar Jose
Hernandez-Hernandez, Jhonnael
Hernandez Gonzalez, Manuel
Hernandez Hernandez, Angel
Hernandez Juarez, Yorby
Hernandez Romero, Andry
Hueck Escobar, Jesus
Hung Mendoza, Jordan
Hurtado Quevedo, Eddie Adolfo
Indriago-Alvarez, Donovan
Izaguirre-Granado, Randy
Jaimes-Rincon, Yeison
Jerez-Hernandez, Yohendry
Justo Garcia, Jose
Laya-Freites, Jefferson
Leal-Bautista, Keiber
Leal-Estrada, Kervin
Lemus Cagua, Diego
Lizcano-Basto, Josue
Lopez Bolivar, Jose
Lopez Lizano, Maikol
Lopez-Rodriguez, Geomar
Lozada Sanchez, Wuilliam
Lozano-Camargo, Daniel
Lugo Zavala, Johendry
Lugo-Acosta, Yermain
Machado Martinez, Onaiker
Machado-Rodriguez, Jose
Manrique, Edson
Manzo Lovera, Lainerke
Marcano Silva, Luis
Marea-Medina, Ronald
Marin Zambrano, Jhonervi Josue
Marquez Pena, Jose
Marrufo Hernandez, Uriel David
Martinez Vargas, Kerbin
Martinez Vegas, Rafael
Martinez-Borrego, Tito
Martinez-Gonzalez, Yohangel
Mata Fornerino, Wilfredo Jose
Mata-Ribeiro, Yoswaldo
Mathie Zavala, Hotsman Ricardo
Medina-Martinez, Alexis
Melendez Rojas, Edwin
Mendez Boyer, Alex
Mendez Mejias, Angel
Mendez-Gomez, Luis
Mendoz Nunez, Carlos
Mendoza Ortiz, Maikol Solier
Mendoza Pina, Jean Claude
Mendoza Ramirez, Jonathan
Mogollon Herrera, Henry
Molina-Acevedo, Roger
Montero Espinoza, Ervinson
Montilla-Rivas, Jose
Mora-Balzan, Jose
Morales-Rolon, Andres
Moreno-Camacho, Cristopher
Moreno-Ramirez, Maikel
Morillo-Pina, Luis
Moron Cabrera, Yuber
Munoz Pinto, Luis
Navas Vizcaya, Ali
Navas-Diaz, Obed
Nieto Contreras, Kevin
Nunez-Falcon, Luis
Olivera Rojas, Maikel
Orta-Campos, Junior
Ortega Garcia, Felix
Otero Valestrines, Luis
Palacios-Rebolledo, Leoner
Palencia-Benavides, Brayan
Parra Urbina, Eduard
Paz-Gonzalez, Daniel
Pena Mendez, Jose Antonio
Penaloza Chirinos, Ysqueibel Yonaiquer
Perez Perez, Cristian
Perez-Llovera, Juan
Perfecto La Rosa, Moises
Perozo-Colina, Carlos
Perozo-Palencia, Andy
Petit Findlay, Andersson Steven
Petterson Torres, Christean
Pineda Lezama, Jesus
Pinto Velasquez, Cristhian
Plaza-Carmona, Jonathan
Primoschitz Gonzalez, Albert
Querales Martinez, Anderson Jose
Quintero Chacon, Edicson
Ramirez Ramirez, Jonathan Miguel
Ramos Bastidas, Jose
Ramos Ramos, Juan Jose
Reyes Barrios, Jerce Egbunik
Reyes Mota, Frengel
Reyes Ollarvides, Ronald
Reyes-Villegas, Arlinzon
Rincon Bohorquez, Omar
Rincon-Rincon, Ringo
Rios Andrade, Jesus
Rivera Gonzalez, Luis
Rivero-Coroy, Jean
Rodriguez, Edwin
Rodriguez Goyo, Alejandro
Rodriguez Lugo, Luis Gustavo
Rodriguez Parra, Alber
Rodriguez Rojas, Kenlyn
Rodriguez-Da Silva, Fernando
Rojas, Deibys
Rojas-Mendoza, Miguel
Romero Chirinos, Ildemar Jesus
Romero Rivas, Erick
Roos Ortega, Jesus
Rosal-Gelvez, Hector
Rubio-Petrola, Jose
Saavedra-Caruci, Robinson
Salazar-Cuervo, Pedro Luis
Sanchez Bigott, Yorbis
Sanchez Paredes, Idenis
Sanchez-Arteaga, Fernando
Sanchez-Bermudez, Marco
Santiago Ascanio, Ronald
Sarabia Gonzalez, Anyelo
Semeco Revilla, Darwin Xavier
Sierra Cano, Anyelo
Silva Casares, Jason Alfredo
Silva Freites, Carlos Julio
Silva-Ramirez, Aaron
Soto Manzana, Omar
Suarez-Fuentes, Joen
Suarez-Nunez, Luis
Suarez-Salas, Nery
Suarez-Trejo, Arturo
Tapia Colina, Jesus
Teran Aguilar, Carlos
Testa Leon, Orlando Jesus
Toro Noguera, Yonel
Torrealba Torrealba, Yonathan
Torres Archila, Amber
Torres Herrera, Euder Jose
Torres-Polanco, Carlos
Tortosa Guedez, Jorge
Tovar-Marcano, Cesar
Travieso Gonzalez, Kleiver
Troconis Gonzalez, Yhon Deivis
Uzcategui Vielma, Carlos
Vaamondes Barrios, Miguel
Vargas Lugo, Henry
Vazquez Morillo, Nicola
Vega Sandia, Wilmer
Vera Villamizar, Wladimir
Villa-Montano, Enson
Villafranca Rincones, Carlos Eduardo
Villegas-Frites, Ilels
Yamarte-Fernandez, Mervin
Yanez-Arangure, Luis
Zabaleta-Morillo, Keiber
Zambrano Perez, Julio
Zambrano Torrealba, Gabriel
Zarraga Rosales, Jorge