Donald Trump has deported more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang from the US to a high security mega-prison in El Salvador, despite a federal judge issuing an order to temporarily bar the deportations.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has since posted a highly-produced, slick video online showing the men arriving in El Salvador. They are shown to have their hands and feet shackled and were forcibly bent over by guards.
The footage, and defiance of the federal judge order, has caused outrage among human rights advocates.
On Saturday, Trump issued a proclamation that invoked the Alien Enemies Act 1978 to deport alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua. The law has not been used since World War II and gives the US government authority to detain or deport nationals of an enemy nation during wartime.
A federal judge in DC issued an emergency order on Saturday, telling the Trump administration to temporarily stop the deportations using the wartime law.
“Oopsie … Too late,” Bukele posted on X on Sunday, responding to an article about the judge’s order.
When he was asked about invoking the Alien Enemies Act 1978, Trump said, “This is a time of war” and described an influx of criminal migrants as “an invasion”.
The last time the Alien Enemies Act was used was during World War II, when people of Japanese, Italian and German descent were placed in internment camps in the United States.
What is the CECOT?
About 238 alleged members of Tren de Aragua have now been taken to the Terrorism Confinement Center or CECOT, a mega-prison that can hold up to 40,000 inmates.
Video footage posted by Bukele has shown the men arriving in El Salvador and being escorted into the prison. Each cell in the prison can fit 65 to 70 prisoners.
Prisoners at CECOT are not allowed to receive visits from family and not allowed outdoors. They do not participate in education programs to prepare them for life after their sentences. The treatment of inmates inside of CECOT has been subject to criticism by multiple human rights organisations.
In Australia
In Australia, Opposition leader Peter Dutton has today suggested he may call a referendum if he is elected as prime minister over changing the constitution to give politicians the ability to deport criminals who are dual citizens.
“I want to keep our country safe … My argument is if you betray your allegiance to our country in that way you should expect to lose your citizenship,” he said on Tuesday.
“What we’re proposing here is a discussion about whether we’ve got adequate laws, about whether the constitution is restrictive.”