The Trump administration is paying El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele $6 million to house 300 deported immigrants—even after a federal judge issued a temporary stop to removals.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that deportations under Trump’s 18th-century wartime declaration should be halted. However, by that time, two planes carrying deportees were already in the air; one bound for El Salvador and another for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the flights to turn around, but because he didn’t include it in his official written ruling, the deportations continued anyway.
Bukele, a Trump ally, responded on social media, seemingly mocking the judge’s decision. He posted “Oopsie…Too late” on Twitter, referring to the fact that the deportations had already happened. The White House’s communications director, Steven Cheung, even reshared the post.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the move, saying El Salvador agreed to house over 250 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in its prisons for what he called a “fair price”—which amounts to $6 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Meanwhile, legal experts argue the administration’s actions violated the spirit of the judge’s order.
The Department of Justice acknowledged Sunday that some immigrants had already been deported by the time the ruling was issued. The administration has since appealed the judge’s decision and says it will use other legal avenues to continue deportations if necessary.
