At Least 50 Venezuelan Migrants Deported to El Salvador Prison Had The Entered U.S. Legally: Report

At least 50 Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador had entered the United States legally, according to a new report by the Cato Institute.

The think tank reached the conclusion after analyzing publicly available records for 174 of the more than 200 migrants sent to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in March. Of the 90 cases with clear entry documentation, 50 individuals had entered the U.S. through official channels, such as parole programs, ports of entry, refugee resettlement, or valid visas.

"Dozens of legal immigrants were stripped of their status and imprisoned in El Salvador," the report states.

The deportations were carried out under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), an 18th-century wartime law rarely used in modern immigration enforcement, its used being repeatedly challenged and blocked in courts across the country. The administration has argued that the deported migrants pose security threats, linking many of them to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

However, both the Cato report and advocates have questioned the evidence behind these claims, claiming that tattoos that often have cultural or personal meanings, as The Guardian reports.

The U.S. government has yet to release full records of those deported, and lawyers for the migrants allege that detainees face severe conditions in El Salvador, including psychological and physical abuse.

The deportations have drawn legal scrutiny. On May 17, the Supreme Court ruled that Venezuelan migrants must be given more time and notice to challenge deportations under the AEA. While the Court did not rule on the constitutionality of using the AEA in this context, it emphasized that "notice roughly 24 hours before removal... does not pass muster."

The Supreme Court on Monday also ruled on another pressing issues for Venezuelan migrants, allowing the administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans—potentially exposing over 350,000 people to deportation.