Rubio says US does not know whereabouts of 137 Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration does not know the whereabouts of 137 Venezuelans it unlawfully deported last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that attempting to offer them due process would impact US foreign policy interests in the country.

“Given the passage of time, the U.S. government does not know—nor does it have any way of knowing—the whereabouts of class members, including whether anyone has departed Venezuela or whether the (Nicolás Maduro) regime subsequently took anyone back into custody,” Rubio said in a court filing Monday responding to a federal judge’s December ruling requiring the US to find ways to give the migrants due process.

The secretary of state’s comments underscore the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration, which has escalated in recent months with federal agents sent to several cities for immigration enforcement.

Monday’s filing also comes after President Donald Trump has said the US will “run” Venezuela following the capture of Maduro earlier this month.

Considering those developments, Rubio argued that the matter of setting up hearings for those who were deported – whether that be by bringing them back to the US or through virtual hearings from Venezuela – “would risk material damage to U.S. foreign policy interests in Venezuela.”

Judge James Boasberg had ruled in December that the 137 migrants “received constitutionally inadequate process” in March when they were not provided with meaningful notice or an opportunity to challenge their deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

Boasberg went on to say that the administration must facilitate “a meaningful opportunity (for them) to contest their designation.”

The migrants, who the Trump administration alleged were affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, were deported to and imprisoned in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, a sweeping wartime authority that gives the president the power to target and remove undocumented immigrants, and speed up the deportations.

In July, El Salvador released “252 Venezuelan nationals, including the 137” migrants, Rubio said in the filing. As CNN previously reported, this release was part of a large-scale prisoner swap between US and Venezuela in which the Venezuelans were released in exchange for 10 US nationals.

Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act in March swiftly drew legal challenges, including in this case — J.G.G v. Trump — from the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward, which resulted in Boasberg temporarily blocking Trump’s use of the authority.

While the Supreme Court has allowed Trump to enforce the Alien Enemies Act, it ruled in April that officials must give migrants adequate notice that they are being removed pursuant to the wartime authority so they have “reasonable time” to bring habeas complaints, which are suits brought by people who claim they are being detained by the government unlawfully.

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CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.