ISTANBUL

The White House has denied claims that it defied a judge’s order halting the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.

If such deportations did occur, it could escalate legal battles over the administration’s assertions of broad presidential authority, potentially pushing the situation toward a constitutional crisis.

The controversy centers on the deportation of Venezuelan migrants under the rarely invoked 18th-century Alien Enemies Act—an unusual and contentious move that could signal an overreach by US President Donald Trump, CNN reported.

US District Judge James Boasberg temporarily halted the deportations on Saturday to assess the legality of using the act, instructing that any flights already in progress should return to the US.

On Sunday however, the administration confirmed that 250 deportees reportedly linked to the Tren de Aragua gang were already in custody in El Salvador.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt issued a statement later that evening, further fueling speculation about whether officials had disregarded the judge’s order.

“The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order,” Leavitt said. “The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist (Tren de Aragua) aliens had already been removed from US territory.”

“A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from US soil,” she added.

Leavitt’s focus on the judge’s “written” order and her mention of the migrants having already left US soil—without clarifying when they arrived in El Salvador—raised questions. The White House also does not have the authority to determine the legality of court orders.

Trump responded on Sunday night, saying: “I can tell you this: these were bad people. That was a bad group of, as I say, hombres.”

Asked whether his administration had defied court orders, he replied: “You’d have to speak to the lawyers about that.”

The exact timing of Boasberg’s orders in relation to the deportation operation remains unclear. However, if the administration did disregard the judge’s ruling, it could mark its most serious legal crisis yet and heighten concerns about an authoritarian presidency defying the rule of law.

In an overnight filing into Monday, attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward urged Boasberg to “seek immediate clarification” in sworn declarations regarding officials’ actions and the flights in question.

They called for details on whether migrant flights departed after the judge’s written or oral orders, whether any flights subject to the ruling were airborne or had landed, and whether deportees were transferred to a foreign country after the temporary halt was issued.