White House Deports Hundreds of Immigrants Despite Court Order

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at White House efforts to deport immigrants to El Salvador, U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Europe.

‘This Is War’

The Trump administration transferred hundreds of immigrants to Latin America on Saturday, potentially defying a court order barring deportations for 14 days. While White House officials deny violating the district ruling, rights groups are preparing for a legal showdown that could challenge U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest effort to amass executive power.

Trump kicked off his new deportation strategy on Friday by imposing the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which gives the White House extraordinary powers during wartime to detain and remove foreigners who would otherwise be protected under immigration or criminal laws. The declaration has only been used three times in U.S. history: the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II.

On Saturday, Trump used the Alien Enemies Act to argue that the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang was “perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States.” He ordered the Justice and Homeland Security departments to remove every Venezuelan migrant aged 14 or older who is part of Tren de Aragua and is not a permanent U.S. resident or citizen.

“This is war,” Trump said at the time.

That same day, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of Washington, D.C., issued an order temporarily banning deportation flights, at the request of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward, which argued that the executive move would allow Trump to expel any Venezuelans from the United States. “This is something you need to make sure is complied with immediately,” Boasberg told the Trump administration.

Two planes carrying migrants were already headed for El Salvador and Honduras when Boasberg made his decision, and he issued a verbal order for the planes to be turned around. However, the aircrafts did not do so. The Justice Department has since appealed the decision, and White House officials have offered a variety of justifications for why the judge’s order was not followed.

“A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrying foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, adding that the administration did not “‘refuse to comply’ with a court order.”

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele had a similar (albeit, shorter) response: “Oopsie… Too late,” Bukele posted on X, followed by a laughing emoji. Earlier this year, Bukele agreed to accept around 300 immigrants for one year in exchange for $6 million. On Sunday, he said 238 members of Tren de Aragua and 23 members of MS-13, a Salvadoran gang, had arrived and were being moved to the country’s notorious CECOT facility. The Trump team has not identified who was deported or provided any evidence that they were members of Tren de Aragua or committed any crimes in the United States.

Boasberg is expected to hear additional arguments in the deportation case on Friday. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s government has rejected Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, characterizing the latest deportations as akin to “the darkest episodes in human history, from slavery to the horror of the Nazi concentration camps.”

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The World This Week

Tuesday, March 18: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts French President Emmanuel Macron.

Wednesday, March 19: The European Commission’s action plan on U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs is due.

The three-day Raisina Dialogue in India concludes.

Thursday, March 20: The European Council begins a two-day leaders’ summit in Brussels.

Military chiefs from the “coalition of the willing” convene in London to discuss support for Ukraine.

Beijing imposes countermeasures to Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and metals.

Friday, March 21: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is inaugurated as Namibia’s first female president.

Curaçao holds a general election.

Sunday, March 23: Argentine President Javier Milei begins a multiday trip to Israel.

What We’re Following

Calling Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak with Trump on Tuesday, the Kremlin confirmed on Monday. The two leaders are expected to discuss a path to end the Russia-Ukraine war, with Trump saying on Sunday that “dividing up certain assets,” such as land and power plants, will be part of the conversation. Kyiv remains opposed to any deal that gives Moscow control of Ukrainian land.

Last week, Putin expressed interest in a U.S.-led 30-day cease-fire deal—with extensive caveats. These included promises that Ukraine would not resupply its military during this time, something that Kyiv fears would leave the country vulnerable to a future Russian attack. On Sunday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told local media that Moscow will also require guarantees that Kyiv not be allowed to join NATO.

Trump appears optimistic about Tuesday’s talk, saying, “We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday.” But Kyiv’s European allies are not so easily convinced. Putin “will seize this opportunity to present all kinds of demands, and what we already see is that they’re presenting demands that are ultimate goals,” European Union foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

Ottawa snubs Washington. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Macron in Paris on Monday for Carney’s first official foreign visit since taking office last Friday. Choosing France as his first international trip rather than the United States—as past Canadian leaders have historically done—is symbolic of Ottawa’s fracturing relationship with Washington.

Later on Monday, Carney flew to London to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He also separately met with King Charles III, who is Canada’s head of state. Carney specifically chose these two capitals to demonstrate Canada’s ethnic history, with the country being founded by French, English, and Indigenous people. But the primary reason for Carney traveling to Europe before visiting the United States is to counter Trump’s tariff and sovereignty threats.

“It’s more important than ever that Canada reinforces its ties with our reliable allies like France,” Carney said in an apparent dig at Trump and his 51st-state agenda.

Houthi attacks. The United States launched a third day of large-scale attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday. The strikes have killed at least 53 people, including children, according to the Houthi-run health ministry. Trump has vowed to continue retaliatory strikes until the Iranian-backed proxy group stops targeting shipping vessels in the Red Sea, which the Houthis say they are doing in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.

U.S. intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard has urged other countries impacted by the Houthis’ trade disruptions to also take military action against the militant group. Such a threat could escalate tensions in the Middle East at a time when Trump appears interested in renewing nuclear talks with Tehran and Iran’s other proxy groups in the region are balancing a fragile cease-fire deal with Israel. Already, oil prices have risen in response to the uncertainty.

“We warn our enemies that Iran will respond decisively and destructively if they take their threats into action,” Hossein Salami, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Sunday.

Odds and Ends

Lady Liberty has battled ghosts, survived apocalypses, and even outlived humanity. But Trump’s latest anti-European policies could be what sends the iconic American symbol back to its original home, France. “We’re going to say to the Americans who have chosen to side with the tyrants, to the Americans who fired researchers for demanding scientific freedom: ‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty,’” French member of European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann joked on Sunday, arguing that Washington is no longer worthy of the toga-wearing woman.

Asked on Monday whether the United States would send the statue back, Leavitt said, “Absolutely not.” “My advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it’s only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now. They should be very grateful,” she added.