The Trump administration sent a fourth plane to El Salvador on Sunday to carry the exile, claiming it was acting under a different authority than the previously cited obscure wartime laws, urging federal judges to block the transfer.
Administration officials said all 17 men described as gang members were deported under US regular immigration laws and had final removal orders. However, the administration described the action as a previous relocation in similar military terms, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon Chief of Staff Joe Casper both calling deportation a “anti-terrorism” operation.
In a statement Monday, Rubio said the US military had transported 17 “violent criminals” to El Salvador, including “murderers and rapists.” Casper, the Pentagon Chief of Staff, said the deportation was a “successful terrorism mission” carried out by the US military in partnership with El Salvador.
El Salvador President Naive Bukere said in a social media post that the two countries had “joint military operations” and allegedly all migrants have been identified as “murderers and famous criminals.” The post included a video showing a man in detention being led by a US Air Force plane at night.
On Monday, President Trump reposted Bukere's announcement about his social media platform, True Social, thanking El Salvador for “taking off criminals,” and criticised former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for allowing them to enter the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem later told Fox News that Bukel told her at a meeting last week that she was “absolutely” ready to continue her American denner.
Seven men are Venezuelan citizens, while 10 others are Salvadoran citizens, and senior State Department officials said they were authorized to discuss details of the deportation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The migrants were temporarily detained at a US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before being transported to a large prison in El Salvador.
Officials said Denner claimed that he was removed under the traditional legal authority of the administrative department to enforce immigration laws against illegal entry, a wartime measure Trump called earlier this month to expel members of the Tren de Lagua gang, not under the alien enemy laws, but rather that they were part of a “predatory invasion” sponsored by the Venezuelan government. These deportations are being challenged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Administration officials said the man was a member of Tren de Aragua or MS-13, a gang founded by Salvador immigrants. Each one has been convicted or charged with crimes that qualify for deportation, including murder, manslaughter, assault, and theft, according to a list provided by White House officials.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the administration has broad authority to illegally deport immigrants in the United States if they are given deportation orders through immigration courts. Officials said they all had final removal orders for deportation.
Governments can also expel non-citizens, whether legally exists in the United States, if they commit serious crimes such as murder or sexual assault. Congress recently expanded the list of crimes that a person can qualify for deportation, requiring that they can face removal even if they are simply charged with those crimes.
The latest deportation is expected to prompt the rapid deportation of the same group that has sued Trump's administration in recent efforts to migrate fraudulent immigrants, primarily Venezuelans, and the use of Guantanamo Bay as a holding facility for individuals with removal orders against them.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration alleged that over 200 Denners had dispatched three civilian planes that had been brought to prisons in El Salvador, and that alien enemy laws gave the president the right to do so. The episode raised questions about whether the Trump administration violated the judge's orders.
James, the judge of the case. E Boasberg issued a ruling from the bench ordering the administration to temporarily suspend deportation and change planes that would return immigrants to the United States if necessary. The plane did not turn.
Justice Department lawyers argue that the only binding order is subsequent writing that does not contain specific instructions to deflect the plane into the air. They also argued that the court had no right to review government actions and refused to convey the important details of the operation to Judge Boasberg while he was trying to abandon the case.
The Air Force plane that carried the Decause to El Salvador, a C-17, was clearly visible when it traveled to Guantanamo Bay on Sunday, but was not immediately clear when the plane flew to El Salvador.
In another case, lawyers representing immigrant families who believed they were at risk of being sent to Guantanamo failed to persuade a federal judge earlier this month to issue an emergency order to stop the practice.
Over the weekend, a group of Democrats issued a statement denounced the administration's use of Guantanamo after touring the facility there.
“It's clear that Guantanamo Bay could be an illegal and certainly an illogical place for immigrants to be held. “Its use appears to be designed to undermine legitimate procedures and avoid legal scrutiny,” said Senator Jack Reid of Rhode Island, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Gary Peters of Michigan, Alex Padilla of California and Main Angus King.
John Ismay and Alan Feyer contributed the report from Washington. Gabriel Labrador contributed a report from San Salvador.
