Trump ignores court decision and deports immigrants to El Salvador

More than 200 immigrants deported by the United States arrived in El Salvador on Sunday (16), one day after a federal judge suspending Donald Trump’s government measure that used a 1798 war law to expel suspects of criminal activities. Among the deported are 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and 23 members of the Mexican gang MS-13, according to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

The detainees were immediately transferred to the Tecoluca Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), 75 km from San Salvador. According to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, they will remain in prison for “a renewable year.” The president mocked the American court decision that suspended the deportations, stating: “Oopsie … too late.” Cecot, Latin America’s largest prison, houses about 15,000 members of the MS-13 and the Rival Barrio 18 gang.

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According to Associated PressEl Salvador would have agreed to house about 300 migrants in his arrests for a year, with the US paying $ 6 million for the deal. “We are helping our allies, making our prison system self -sustainable,” said Bukele in Xnoting that “the United States will pay a very low rate for them, but high to El Salvador.”

Ingrid Escobar, director of the NGO Humanitarian Legal Socorro, told the AFP That the feat is “a big deal for Bukele. He will profit from the United States by renting Cecot, without accounting to anyone and without having a law that supports him. ”

Trump used 18 century law for deportations

The Trump government has based deportations in the 1798 foreign enemies law, which allows the expulsion of individuals considered a threat to national security in times of war. The legislation had been last applied during World War II against US citizens of Japanese descent.

However, Judge James Boasberg of Columbia district suspended the order for considering that the US is not at war and, therefore, the law would not apply. According to The Washington Post, Bomberg even ordered the return of the aircraft carrying the deported, but the planes had already taken off.

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The Venezuelan government rejected Trump’s decision classifying it an act that refers to “darker episodes in the history of humanity, from slavery to the horror of Nazi concentration camps.”

USA Migration Policy harden

Deportations are part of Trump’s offensive against illegal immigration. In January, he classified the Aragua Tren and MS-13 as “foreign terrorist organizations.” During his campaign, he promised to perform the largest deportation operation in US history, but the numbers are still below expectations. In February 2025, 11,000 immigrants were deported, below 12,000 in the same period in 2024, under the government of Joe Biden.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, praised Bukele, calling him “the strongest security leader in the region.” However, the decision faces criticism from experts and human rights organizations, who question the legality of deportation without concrete evidence against the detainees.

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With information from agencies