US Attempts to Expel Venezuelans to El Salvador

• US attempts to expel Venezuelans to El Salvador.
• As reported by EFE.
• Here are the details.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) denounced on Friday that the United States government is attempting to imminently deport a group of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, citing an 18th-century wartime law.

The organization filed emergency appeals, including one before the Supreme Court, to halt the deportations.

The migrants, currently detained in a detention center in Ansen, Texas, are accused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of being members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.

According to court documents, they have been notified that they will be deported under the so-called Alien Enemies Act, enacted in 1798 and rarely used in US history.

US attempts to expel Venezuelans to El Salvador

USA tries to send more Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, denounces organization #Ntelemicro5 #Emissionestelarnt5 #USA #Migrants

https://t.co/bsayglt72f

— Noticias Telemicro (@NTelemicro5) April 19, 2025

“Emergency intervention is necessary to prevent irreparable and permanent harm to the plaintiffs,” the ACLU warned in its appeal to the Supreme Court.

They argue that the government is ignoring a recent Supreme Court ruling by attempting the transfers without notifying the detainees’ attorneys or allowing them to legally defend themselves.

During an emergency hearing held Friday night in Washington, a Department of Justice lawyer claimed no deportation flights of Venezuelans to El Salvador were scheduled in the coming hours.

However, the ACLU maintains that the migrants’ families were informed of a potential transfer between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Supreme Court Authorization

Last week, the Supreme Court authorized the deportations as long as minimal due process guarantees were upheld.

These include the right to be informed of the transfer and to challenge the decision within a “reasonable” time frame.

As part of a controversial agreement with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, the U.S. government has already sent more than 200 migrants—primarily Venezuelans—to the Center for Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), a mega-prison in El Salvador denounced by international organizations for alleged human rights abuses.

Washington will allocate six million dollars annually to support the facility as part of the agreement, the specific details of which remain unknown.

The Concerning Precedent

A recent Bloomberg analysis revealed that 90% of the migrants sent to CECOT have no criminal records in the United States.

The decision to apply a law more than two centuries old and to link migrants with criminal networks without solid evidence has raised alarm among human rights organizations.

They warn of a dangerous criminalization of migration and increasing opacity in the deportation process under the current administration of Donald Trump.

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