**U.S. District Judge Orders Trump Administration to Facilitate Return or Due Process Hearings for Venezuelan Men Deported to El Salvador**
*By OAN Staff | Brooke Mallory | 5:19 PM, Tuesday, December 20, 2025*
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has ruled that the Trump administration must either facilitate the return of more than 100 Venezuelan men deported earlier this year to El Salvador’s CECOT megaprison or provide them with due process hearings to challenge their removal and alleged gang affiliations.
The Venezuelan foreign nationals were deported in March under the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. According to Judge Boasberg, these men were denied due process and were not given an opportunity to challenge the government’s allegations against them before their removal.
The Trump administration maintains that the men were affiliated with the Venezuelan organized crime syndicate *Tren de Aragua* (TdA). It invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime statute from 1798, labeling them as “enemy aliens subject to detention and removal.”
This ruling marks the latest development in ongoing litigation brought by U.S.-based immigration lawyers and activists. Prior to their deportation—and amidst the court challenge—the plaintiffs sought an injunction to halt their removal.
“The Court finds that the only remedy that would give effect to its granting of Plaintiffs’ Motion would be to order the Government to undo the effects of their unlawful removal by facilitating a meaningful opportunity to contest their designation and the Proclamation’s validity,” Boasberg wrote.
“Otherwise, a finding of unlawful removal would be meaningless for Plaintiffs, who have already been sent back to Venezuela against their wishes and without due process,” he added.
Boasberg emphasized that expedited removal cannot be allowed to render such relief powerless. “If secretly spiriting individuals to another country were enough to neuter the Great Writ, then ‘the Government could snatch anyone off the street, turn him over to a foreign country, and then effectively foreclose any corrective course of action.’”
Under the court order, the administration is required by January 5, 2026, to either facilitate the return of the plaintiffs to the United States or provide them with hearings that satisfy due process requirements.
Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney representing the Venezuelan men, hailed the ruling as a victory. “After enduring months of torture, these men will finally get the due process they deserve, notwithstanding the Trump administration’s underhanded attempts to deny them any opportunity to contest the accusations that they are gang members,” he said in a statement to *The Hill*.
Judge Boasberg also noted that even if the men are released from CECOT in El Salvador, the legal case remains critical. They will continue to suffer serious consequences stemming from their removal under the Alien Enemies Act.
Some of these consequences include:
– Permanent bars to entering the U.S.
– Being labeled as members of a foreign terrorist organization (FTO)
– Seizure of assets
– Denial of asylum
– Other related restrictions
In other words, release from prison does not resolve the broader legal and personal issues faced by the plaintiffs.
“If Plaintiffs were to succeed in their challenge to their designation as TdA members and alien enemies, these ongoing injuries would be remedied,” Boasberg added, suggesting that a successful challenge could invalidate or reverse their designations.
—
**Stay informed!** Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. [Subscribe here](#).
**What do YOU think?** [Click here to jump to the comments!](#)
—
*Sponsored Content Below*
Share this post!
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/judge-boasberg-trump-admin-must-facilitate-return-of-over-100-deported-venezuelans-or-give-them-due-process-hearings/
