On March 15, the Trump Administration deported 238 Venezuelans, many of whom were legal residents of the United States, to a mega prison in El Salvador known as the Center for Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT). While the administration has claimed the deported Venezuelans were gang members, for the majority of the deported, they were unable to provide substantial evidence and did not give them due process. A combination of a lack of due process for those who were deported, the terrible conditions of the prison, and Trump’s plans to deport American citizens has generated a huge amount of backlash from the public.
The administration has justified its actions through the Alien Enemies Act, which allows the president to deport any non-citizens without due process in cases of invasion or war. In this case, the justification is based on invasion from gangs and cartels. However, according to multiple federal judges, these actions fall outside the scope of the act, and the administration has failed to demonstrate an invasion by a government or nation. The administration has responded by starting discussions on suspending habeas corpus, a legal procedure that allows people to challenge their detention in court. This would allow the President to continue to deport whom he wishes without any due process. This method is likely to face legal challenges due to the fact that habeas corpus cannot be suspended constitutionally unless in cases of rebellion or invasion, in which its suspension is deemed necessary for public safety.
Not only is the Trump administration actively trying to find a way to bypass court decisions, but they are actively defying court decisions as well. The Supreme Court reviewed the evidence for a deportee named Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was among the people deported to El Salvador. The justices decided that, due to flimsy evidence of Garcia being part of a gang, specifically MS-13, as well as the fact that he was given no due process, the administration must facilitate his return to the United States. Instead of complying with the court’s orders, they doubled down on the claim that Garcia was a dangerous illegal criminal, even though he came here legally through asylum and has no connections to MS-13. The only evidence they have been able to present is the tattoos on his knuckles, which can be interpreted as MS-13, however given that this is a gang that is known for its tattoos not being subtle, as most of the time they literally just say M-13, this is a very flimsy piece of evidence. In an interview with ABC News, Trump presented a photoshopped image that had MS-13 on Garcia’s knuckles in order to communicate the interpretations of the actual tattoos, and in a state of confusion that many are attributing to the President’s old age, he actually thought that the photoshop was real, and got into an argument with the interviewer about this.
The reason the courts are trying to get Garcia back in the country as fast as possible isn’t just due to the legal issues that came with his deportation, but also due to the fact that the mega-prison is a large human rights violation. The United Nations Human Rights Watch reported that the CECOT, like other El Salvadoran prisons, has severe cases of inhumane conditions, torture, lack of medical care, and lack of food. Unfortunately, due to the isolation of prisoners, access to information on deaths and abuse is not available. However, given photo evidence of abuse in the prison as well as the findings of systemic denial of human necessities in their prisons by various human rights groups, it is likely that CECOT is doing the same. The isolation of these prisoners is so severe that, for a time, it was unknown if Garcia was still alive, until he was finally allowed a visit from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Overall, this entire event has blown up in the administration’s face, with their actions being largely unpopular. To add on even more to their unpopularity, is the fact that now Trump is considering deporting US citizens to the El Salvadoran prison as well, where in a hot mic moment with El Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele he said “The homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You’ve got to build about five more places,”. This would mean that, in combination with them trying to get rid of due process for legal residents to deport them, which would also get rid of due process for us as well, Trump is now preparing to send actual US citizens to a foreign prison. While many argue this is illegal and will face legal challenge, Trump has defied the courts before, so only time will tell.
