Torren de Aragua, said to be part of a “foreign terrorist cartel,” could potentially be returned to the United States after being deported in 2025, with taxpayers possibly covering the costs.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, known for his confrontations with the Trump administration, ordered the expedited deportation of 137 immigrants back to El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison on Thursday.
In his ruling, Boasberg made it clear that the government would be responsible for the airfare for these migrants, which likely means taxpayers will bear the financial burden. He questioned, “Why should the plaintiffs have to incur the repatriation costs?” pointing out that, if the government had respected their constitutional rights before their deportation, this dilemma wouldn’t have occurred.
This decision is part of a lawsuit active for nearly a year, where a federal judge tried to halt the Trump administration’s deportations to El Salvador in March 2025, referencing the Alien Enemy Act.
Even though the Supreme Court allowed the use of the Alien Enemy Act for deportations in April, it mandated that detainees be informed of their situations and given a chance to contest them.
Since then, Boasberg has been working through legal avenues concerning the men in El Salvador, where a court determined in December that their due process was denied.
It’s uncertain how many may opt to return to the U.S., and Boasberg noted that non-citizens would be “detained upon arrival” in the country.
In another decision similar to Boasberg’s, a federal judge recently ruled that the Trump administration should cover the deportation costs for three families that were claimed to have been wrongfully deported by ICE under the 2023 Humanitarian Parole Settlement.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded to the ruling, asserting that the Salvadoran deportee was expelled under proper legal grounds. “Nothing has changed. Alongside being illegal immigrants, these individuals are terrorists as designated by the president,” she stated.
She also claimed, “They were removed under appropriate legal authority. This case isn’t really about the facts or the law; it’s about Judge Boasberg’s efforts to obstruct President Trump from executing the desires of the American people.”
Boasberg has become a focal point of Republican criticism, particularly over rulings affecting Trump’s policies, including ongoing debates about the potential impeachment of judges seen as “rogue.”
The Salvadoran immigrants were deported under the Alien Enemies Act, a law from 1798 used by the Trump administration to remove gang members believed to associate with criminal organizations like Torren de Aragua.
Both TdA and MS-13 were labeled as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration’s State Department in February 2025.
The administration has characterized those sent to high-security prisons in El Salvador as “violent savages” and terrorists threatening U.S. security.
According to earlier reports by the Texas Tribune from May 2025, six of the 238 immigrants deported to El Salvador had been charged in the U.S. with serious crimes like attempted murder and armed robbery.
The report noted that another 32 deportees had criminal records in the U.S., although many of those were nonviolent offenses.
DHS remarked that individuals labeled “non-criminals” in media reports include “terrorists, human rights violators, and gang members, some without criminal records in the U.S.”
