Judge says U.S. must allow deported Venezuelans to return for hearings

"The ruling covers deportees who show up at U.S. land ports of entry and those who take commercial flights into the country. Boasberg ordered the U.S. government to pay for the flights, granting a request from the plaintiffs' lawyers. "It is worth emphasizing that this situation would never have arisen had the Government simply afforded Plaintiffs their constitutional rights before initially deporting them," Boasberg wrote."

"For now, because of political and logistical challenges, Boasberg's ruling does not cover deportees who remain in Venezuela and applies only to those who have moved to another country.The judge said those men must be paroled into the United States for court proceedings if they want the opportunity to challenge their removals. Lawyers involved in the case said only a few of the plaintiffs are currently able to benefit from the ruling, because many of the 137 deportees are unreachable in Venezuela."

A federal judge ruled that 137 Venezuelan men deported in March under the Alien Enemies Act were denied constitutional due-process rights. The men were initially sent to a prison in El Salvador and later moved to Venezuela as part of a prisoner swap. The ruling requires that those who have moved to other countries be paroled into the United States for court proceedings if they seek to challenge their removals. The order covers arrivals at land ports and commercial flights, with the government ordered to pay for flights. Many plaintiffs remain unreachable in Venezuela and the Justice Department plans to appeal.

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