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Federal Judge Orders Return of Venezuelans Deported to Notorious Prison in El Salvador

HeadlineFeb 13, 2026

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return to the United States from Venezuela of nearly 140 Venezuelan men who were sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison last March and accused without evidence of being gang members. On Thursday, Judge James E. Boasberg directed Trump officials to bring the men back to fight their cases in a U.S. court after being denied due process when they were expelled under the wartime Alien Enemies Act — secretly flown to El Salvador despite an emergency court order blocking their removal. Some of the men had pending asylum cases. Boasberg’s ruling is being described as one of the toughest steps taken against Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

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