Judge Seeks Answers on US Defense Department Role in Venezuelans’ Deportations

Officials say the military deported Venezuelans after a judge ordered the government not to immediately deport any illegal immigrants.

Holding tents for detained illegal immigrants at the United States' Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on Feb. 21, 2025. U.S. Navy/AFN Guantanamo Bay Public Affairs/Handout via Reuters

A federal judge on April 28 requested answers from the U.S. government about deportations that took place after he handed down a preliminary injunction that imposed new requirements.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said during a hearing in Boston that he needed answers to determine whether the government violated his order by deporting four Venezuelans from Guantanamo Bay to El Salvador after he had barred officials from deporting illegal immigrants to a country that is not their native country without giving them an opportunity to show that they would face danger if deported there.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have said that the deportations were carried out by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and that DHS did not direct the Pentagon to remove the illegal immigrants. Since the Pentagon is not a defendant in the case, Murphy’s preliminary injunction was not violated, officials said in court filings.

U.S. Department of Justice attorney Jonathan Guynn offered the same arguments at Monday’s hearing.

Murphy questioned how the Department of Defense could conduct the flights without working in concert with the DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is tasked with overseeing detained migrants and executing their deportations.

“What authority would DOD have to effectuate that deportation?” Murphy asked.

Guynn said he could not immediately address that question, saying, “It’s a new day, and there have been lots of changes.” He said he would need to submit further briefing on the issue.

Trina Realmuto, a lawyer at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance representing a group of immigrants pursuing the case before Murphy, said in court that “defendants cannot blatantly disregard the court’s order simply by having another government, department, or agency complete the final step.”

Realmuto urged Murphy to modify his injunction to bar the removal of such immigrants from Guantanamo, something the judge said he was inclined to do but needed to assess if he could. He said he would rule by Thursday.

The Department of Defense has not responded to requests for comment.

After the hearing, Murphy ordered officials to provide the names of any immigrants with final orders of removal who were deported on the two flights, which occurred on or around March 31 and April 13, and to identify any additional flights that removed illegal immigrants from Guantanamo Bay to third countries before those dates.

He also directed the parties to submit a joint discovery plan that addresses topics such as “the relationship between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, including, but not limited to, each agency’s role with regards to removals, the management of Guantanamo Bay, and the March 7, 2025 memorandum of understanding between the two agencies,” and to present arguments on whether he has the authority to modify his preliminary injunction while an appeal is pending.

Reuters contributed to this report.