A U.S. appeals court agreed to pause a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to provide due process to hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. to El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act in a near-term victory for the Trump administration. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the Justice Department’s request for an administrative stay, putting on hold a lower court order handed down last week by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg.

Last Wednesday, Boasberg ruled that the migrants deported solely on the basis of the Alien Enemies Act immigration law did not have prior notice of their removals or the ability to challenge their removals in court, in a violation of due process.

He ordered the Trump administration to provide migrants deported under the law the opportunity to seek habeas relief, and the opportunity to challenge their alleged gang member status that the administration had pointed to as the basis for their removal.

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

Boasberg had given the Trump administration through Wednesday to submit to the court plans for how it would go about providing habeas relief to the plaintiffs in CECOT, the maximum security prison in El Salvador. 

This week, lawyers for the Trump administration filed an emergency motion to stay the ruling in both the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday, one day before that plan was due, seeking additional time to respond to the underlying merits of Boasberg’s ruling.

Justice Department officials argued that Boasberg did not have jurisdiction in the case, as the migrants are detained in El Salvador, and said his order interfered «with the president’s removal of dangerous criminal aliens from the United States.»

Boasberg’s final order last week did not attempt to determine who had jurisdiction. Instead, he set the matter aside, and said the individuals could remain in custody at CECOT, so long as the government submitted plans to the court for how they would be provided a chance to challenge their removal under the Alien Enemies Act.

The Trump administration still took umbrage with that ruling, which it blasted earlier this week in their appeal as «unprecedented, baseless and constitutionally offensive.»

SUPREME COURT GRANTS TRUMP REQUEST TO LIFT STAY HALTING VENEZUELAN DEPORTATIONS

As prisoners stand looking out from a cell, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) on March 26, 2025, in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)

«The district court’s increasingly fantastical injunctions continue to threaten serious harm to the government’s national-security and foreign-affairs interests,» they told the circuit court. 

The court «correctly ruled that the United States lacks constructive custody over the aliens held at CECOT and therefore that this Court lacks jurisdiction over their habeas claims,» attorneys for the Justice Department said in their motion. «That should have been the end of this case.»

That order sparked fierce backlash from senior Trump officials, who have blasted Bosaberg and other federal judges who have ruled in ways unfavorable to them as «activist judges.»

Boasberg, however, was the first federal judge to try to block Trump’s attempt to use the law to summarily deport certain migrants to El Salvador earlier this year, putting him squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. 

Protesters hold signs during a march at San Francisco City Hall on May 1, 2025, in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

On March 15, he granted a temporary restraining order attempting to block the first wave of deportation flights to El Salvador, and ordered the administration to «immediately» return to the U.S. all planes that had already departed.

That did not happen, however, and the planes landed hours later in El Salvador.

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In the months since, Boasberg attempted to hold various fact-finding hearings to determine who knew what, and when, about the flights. 

He later found probable cause to hold the administration in contempt of the court, citing the government’s «willful disregard» for his March 15 emergency order, though those proceedings were later halted by a federal appeals court.

El 9 de febrero de 2004, Maura Murray, una joven universitaria, chocó con su auto en un camino rural de New Hampshire, en Estados Unidos. Tras el accidente, se bajó del vehículo y se encontró con una mujer que intentó ayudarla, pero ella le respondió que estaba bien y que no hacía falta que llamara a alguien.

Sin embargo, esa fue la última vez que vieron a Murray. Su caso se convirtió en uno de los más enigmáticos de la historia criminal estadounidense, ya que nunca se pudo resolver. Hoy, a más de 20 años de su desaparición, su familia cree que fue víctima de un crimen.

Leé también: Una hija desaparecida, restos humanos en el patio y una casa del horror: el macabro caso de Fred y Rose West

Una desaparición sin rastros

Maura Murray nació el 4 de mayo de 1982 en el estado de Massachussets en una familia numerosa. Durante su adolescencia, se destacó por sus buenas calificaciones, lo cual la llevó a estudiar ingeniería química por un período en la universidad. Después, se cambió a la carrera de enfermería.

El lunes 9 de febrero, tenía que ir a clase como cualquier otro día, pero le envió un correo a sus profesores para avisarles que no iba a poder asistir por la muerte de un familiar. Pese a ello, después se confirmó que se trataba de una mentira.

En su lugar, ese día sacó dinero de un cajero automático, compró alcohol, imprimió unas direcciones en una zona rural de Vermont y se subió a su auto para salir a la ruta.

Unas horas después, su vehículo se estrelló contra un árbol en la Ruta 112, cerca de Haverhill, en New Hampshire. Una vecina llamó a la policía a pesar de que la joven se negó a que la ayudara. Sin embargo, cuando llegaron al lugar, Maura ya no estaba.

Una mujer que vivía cerca de la zona en donde el auto chocó, afirmó incluso que habló con Murray desde su casa. En su testimonio, dijo que la joven parecía estar bien, aunque nerviosa, y que rechazó la atención médica que le había ofrecido.

La vecina llamó a las autoridades de todas formas, ya que le pareció una situación extraña. Pero en cuanto la policía llegó, encontraron al auto de la joven cerrado y ella ya no estaba. Incluso, esa tarde nevó y no se encontraron huellas en los alrededores.

Las hipótesis

Desde el principio, la investigación tuvo varias teorías. La principal indicó que se trató de una fuga voluntaria.

Esta hipótesis se basó en lo que encontraron en la habitación de Murray en el campus universitario: todas sus cosas estaban guardadas en cajas, como si estuviera planificando una mudanza. Además, la mentira a sus profesores sobre su ausencia también despertó las sospechas.

En el operativo de búsqueda, los investigadores rastrillaron a pie la zona en la que desapareció la joven, usaron perros rastreadores y helicópteros con cámaras térmicas, pero ni aún así lograron detectar alguna pista contundente que diera con el paradero de Murray.

Su familia, desconfiada de la hipótesis inicial de que Maura podría haberse fugado, insistió en seguir buscando. Durante 2004 y 2005 surgieron algunas pistas inquietantes: un cuchillo oxidado entregado por un testigo y la supuesta aparición de ropa interior rasgada. Sin embargo, los forenses no encontraron elementos compatibles con el ADN de la chica.

Mientras tanto, la policía consideraba que no había pruebas de un crimen, pero la investigación fue derivada al FBI y se declaró de alcance nacional.

En los años siguientes, continuaron los operativos con perros, búsquedas en casas cercanas y análisis de posibles restos, pero ninguno aportó evidencia concreta.

A pesar de la presión constante del padre de la chica desaparecida, Fred Murray, nunca se encontraron pruebas contundentes ni avistamientos creíbles de Maura. Para la familia, el caso sigue siendo un posible homicidio sin resolver y pide que se siga investigando.

Algunas personas creen que Maura planeó su desaparición. Que quiso escapar de la presión que le generaba la facultad, de una familia complicada, de una relación que no funcionaba bien o bien que lo hizo para empezar de nuevo en otro lado. Otros sostienen que fue víctima de un crimen: que alguien se detuvo tras el accidente y se la llevó.

Leé también: Mentiras y un crimen a traición: el caso de Maje, la mujer que planeó matar a su marido con ayuda de su amante

Pero también está la teoría de una muerte accidental. En esta línea, se cree que Maura estaba alcoholizada y que se metió en el bosque intentando alejarse del lugar del choque. Posiblemente, su cuerpo habría quedado sepultado bajo la nieve, pero esta hipótesis perdió fuerza luego de que nunca apareciera ningún resto ni elemento vinculado a la joven.

El FBI reabrió la investigación formalmente en 2021, y en 2023 se hicieron nuevas excavaciones en una casa cerca del lugar del accidente, pero no se encontró nada concluyente.

An unprovoked Hamas attack on Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) workers left at least eight people dead and many others injured, as the U.S.-backed organization fears some team members may have been taken hostage.

«We carefully considered closing our sites today given the heightened security risks and safety concerns, but we decided that the best response to Hamas’ cowardly murderers was to keep delivering food for the people of Gaza who are counting on us. We will not be deterred from our mission towards providing food security for the Palestinian people in Gaza,» GHF interim Executive Director John Acree said in a statement.

PEOPLE IN GAZA ARE THANKING TRUMP FOR AID, LEADER OF US-BACKED GROUP SAYS

«Last night’s ambush was a ruthless assault on those who represent the very best of humanity. These were local aid workers – our colleagues – risking their lives to bring food to those who are starving. They weren’t combatants. They had no political affiliations. They were there to serve their own people, and they were hunted down by Hamas,» GHF Executive Chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore told Fox News Digital. «We are heartbroken, but we’re not backing down. We call on the international community to condemn this unprovoked, barbaric attack and start standing with those of us who are doing the work on the ground. We cannot do it alone. All we want to do is feed people. That’s all.»

In an earlier statement on the attack, GHF said that «for days» Hamas had been threatening its team and aid workers, as well as civilians who receive aid from the organization. In the same statement, GHF called on the international community to condemn Hamas.

«Tonight, the world must see this for what it is: an attack on humanity. We call on the international community to immediately condemn Hamas for this unprovoked attack and continued threat against our people simply trying to feed the Palestinian people,» GHF’s statement read.

Palestinians carry aid supplies they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. (Reuters/Ramadan Abed)

HAMAS WORKING TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP-BACKED AID GROUP WITH ‘FAKE NEWS’: ISRAELI OFFICIAL

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Oren Marmorstein posted about the attack on X and asked whether the United Nations would condemn it.

The United Nations and GHF have been at odds as the international body criticized the U.S.- and Israeli-backed organization and doubted its ability to bring aid to the people of Gaza. In May, Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon accused the U.N. of removing NGOs from a shared aid database after the groups defied a call by the international body to boycott GHF.

People carry boxes of relief supplies from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation from an aid distribution centre in the central Gaza Strip on June 8, 2025. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)

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Moore also slammed the U.N. for its silence in the face of Hamas’ threats of violence against aid workers and questioned the organization’s absence following the deadly attack.

«The UN – worse, much worse, than silence they continue their vicious slander against our mission. A mission with one goal: FEED GAZA! The principle of impartiality does not mean neutrality. There is good and evil in this world. What we are doing is good and what Hamas did to these Gazans is absolute evil,» Moore wrote in a post on X. 

«I am sorry it has come to this but again we extend our hand to UN, the WFP, the ICRC, the EU, the GCC, and the world – join us.  We can do this together. Or for God’s sake, for the sake of humanity, if you’re not going to join us at least have the courage to boycott HAMAS, not us.»

Since the launch of its operations late last month, GHF has reportedly distributed approximately 18,647,662 meals via roughly 316,320 boxes. Moore recently told Fox News Digital that Palestinians who have received aid from GHF have been thanking the U.S. and President Donald Trump for the assistance.

Neither the spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres nor the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment in time for publication.