BURSTThe Trump administration’s admission that it sent a Maryland man to a Salvadoran prison in error shows the need for outside oversight, critics say, as they fight efforts to ship migrants to overseas facilities.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was sent by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) despite being granted protection from removal in 2019 by an immigration judge.
The Trump team admitted the mistake — something it said was due to “an administrative error” — but has argued it would be difficult to secure Abrego Garcia’s return from outside the U.S. where they must “entreat—or even cajole” a close ally to release him.
The disclosure comes as the Trump administration has used both the Alien Enemies Act and immigration authorities to fly both Venezuelan and Salvadoran men it’s accused of being gang members to CECOT without any review of their alleged ties.
"The critical need for due process is becoming clearer every day as more and more evidence emerges that the government is making mistakes in rushing people off to a notorious foreign prison,” Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney in a case from the American Civil Liberties Union challenging President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, told The Hill by email.
While Abrego Garcia is the only man who the Trump administration has said was sent to the prison in error, others whose families have challenged their removal to El Salvador have said they were wrongly deported. Some had entered the country legally and had pending cases before immigration court judges.
One man, Andry José Hernández Romero, was flown to El Salvador as his attorneys were preparing to respond to the allegations in court, only to be suddenly unable to reach their client.
And like Abrego Garcia, attorneys for many of the imprisoned men have said they were falsely accused of gang ties, often based simply on the presence of tattoos.
Hernández Romero, who is a gay makeup artist from Venezuela, was accused of being a member of the Tren de Aragua gang based on having tattoos reading “mom” and “dad” in Spanish beneath a crown. Friends have said the crown was a nod to the Three Kings Day celebrations his hometown is known for.
Another, a soccer player, was identified as a gang member citing his tattoos, but the designs were a nod to the soccer team Real Madrid.
Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council, said the Trump administration is essentially disappearing people.
“What the Trump administration is doing with these removals to El Salvador is sidestepping that already low level of due process in immigration proceedings and taking us to a place where they're essentially yanking people out of their ongoing cases or the street and putting them on a flight somewhere else based on an accusation that they have not proved at all,” she said.
“Innocent until proven guilty — that is an American norm. We understand that to be like a key component of our democracy,” she said, one is afforded to all in the U.S. regardless of whether they are citizens.
Trump’s ignition of the Alien Enemies Act accuses the Tren de Aragua gang of acting at the behest of the Venezuelan government, clearing the way for the deportation of any Venezuelan in the U.S. over the age of 14 the administration says is a member of Tren de Aragua.
A smaller number of Salvadoran nationals have been deported amid allegations they are members of MS-13.
But documents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials show a heavy reliance on tattoos to make the case that men are members of either gang. But many of the tattoos they’ve cited are broadly popular — like the crowns used by Hernández Romero, as well as a jumping man tattoo affiliated with athlete Michael Jordan.
Abrego Garcia’s wife, a U.S. citizen, told CBS News she has been unable to reach her husband since he was flown to El Salvador, recognizing him from news footage. He is also the father to a 5-year-old son with disabilities.
“I've seen news of that prison. I know they take criminals there. And my husband's not a criminal,” said Jennifer, who asked that her last name not be used.
"My husband is an amazing person. An amazing father."
The White House has disputed Abrego Garcia’s claims through attorneys he is not a member of MS-13, though they did not provide any evidence of Abrego Garcia’s gang affiliations.
“This individual was a member, actually a leader of the brutal MS-13 gang, which this president has designated as a foreign terrorist organization,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.
“Foreign terrorists do not have legal protections in the United States of America anymore.”
“There’s a lot of evidence. And the Department of Homeland Security and ICE have that evidence, and I saw it this morning,” Leavitt added later.
Immigration advocates say many of those sent to CECOT were never given the chance to respond to gang allegations, with the Trump administration sidestepping provisions in immigration law requiring court hearings and deporting people before they’ve been ordered removed.
“Under current immigration law, the Trump administration can take action to deport people who have actual affiliations to gangs. U.S. immigration law allows them to put those people into removal proceedings, make their case in a court, and then deport them to their country of origin. That is something they can already do,” Gupta said.
“Their invocation of the alien enemies act and these third country deportations to an El Salvador mega prison are their attempts to more quickly and rapid-fire remove a bunch of people outside of what they're already allowed to do.”
But information about CECOT — and the Trump administration's stated concerns about securing the return of Abrego Garcia — paint a dark picture for those sent there.
A description of the prison from Abrego Garcia’s attorneys aligns with the background of a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who visited CECOT described the prison as “one of the consequences you could face.”
“Each of the 256 cells is intended to hold approximately 80 inmates but often holds nearly double. The cramped cells are equipped with tiered metal bunks without mattresses, two basins for washing, and two open toilets. There are no windows, fans, or air conditioning, despite the region’s warm and humid climate,” the attorneys wrote.
“Inmates in CECOT are confined to their cells for 23.5 hours daily and cannot go outdoors. They are denied access to reading materials, including even letters from friends or family. Inmates are prohibited from receiving visits from family and friends. Meals are provided through the bars, and the facility enforces strict regulations to maintain order.”
It’s not clear that the Trump administration has been honest with the deportees about where they are going.
Two women who were initially flown to the prison, only to be rejected by the Salvadoran government, told NBC News they were told they were going to Venezuela.
“We were lied to,” Heymar Padilla Moyetones, told the outlet.
“They told us we were going to Venezuela, and it turns out that, no. When we arrived at our destination, that’s when they told us we were in El Salvador.”
Venezuela and El Salvador do not have diplomatic relations, meaning Venezuelans sent there do not have any consular support from their own government.
The Trump administration is paying the Salvadoran government $6 million to house the men for the next year.
But in court filings, the Trump administration suggested it would not be able to secure the return of Abrego Garcia.
“The United States does not have custody over Abrego Garcia. They acknowledge that there may be ‘difficult questions of redressability’ in this case, reflecting their recognition that Defendants do not have ‘the power to produce’ Abrego Garcia from CECOT in El Salvador,” the Justice Department wrote in court filings.
“The most they ask for is a court order that the United States entreat—or even cajole—a close ally in its fight against transnational cartels.”
Gupta said the White House “could absolutely negotiate with El Salvador to return people.”
“This is all based on an agreement. So if the Trump administration wanted to do that, the point is that the federal courts now don't have easy jurisdiction over people who are sitting in an El Salvador prison,” she said.
“So it's not so much that they never, ever be returned, and it has to be a definite. That's a choice that the Trump administration is making.”