At least 50 migrants sent to El Salvador prison entered US legally, report finds
The report, published by the libertarian thinktank on Monday, analyzed the available immigration data for only a portion of the men who were deported to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), and focuses on the cases where records could be found.
'The government calls them all 'illegal aliens.' But of the 90 cases where the method of crossing is known, 50 men report that they came legally to the United States, with advanced US government permission, at an official border crossing point,' Cato said in its report.
Related: The desperate search for a father disappeared by Trump to El Salvador: 'We don't know anything'
This number aligns with broader trends among Venezuelan migrants, many of whom entered the country either as refugees or through a Biden-era parole program that granted two-year work permits to those with US-based sponsors.
'The proportion isn't what matters the most: the astounding absolute numbers are,' reads the report. 'Dozens of legal immigrants were stripped of their status and imprisoned in El Salvador.'
Cato's analysis goes against the Trump administration's justification for sending the men to El Salvador, saying that only undocumented people were deported.
The report says that 21 men were admitted after presenting themselves at a port of entry, 24 were granted parole, four were resettled as refugees, and one entered the US on a tourist visa.
The Trump administration deported more than 200 alleged gang members to the Cecot mega-prison in March, controversially invoking the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law meant only to be used in wartime, as justification. The Cecot prison is known for its harsh conditions, and lawyers for Venezuelan deportees have alleged that the migrants being held there are victims of physical and emotional 'torture'.
Related: US supreme court allows Trump to revoke protected status for Venezuelans
The deportations have since drawn widespread scrutiny. To date, the Trump administration has not released complete records for the more than 200 Venezuelans transferred to El Salvador. Cato's review includes information for 174 men whose cases have some degree of public documentation.
The Trump administration has accused many of the deported Venezuelan men of gang involvement, but in many cases, those claims appear to hinge largely on their tattoos.
Many of the tattoos cited as evidence have no connection to gang activity. The markings reflect, in many cases, personal or cultural references.
Cato uses the example of Andry José Hernández Romero, a makeup artist, who has crown tattoos on his arms that reference the Three Kings Day celebrations in his Venezuelan hometown.
The report comes amid a sprawling crackdown on immigrants in the US. On Monday, the supreme court ruled that the Trump administration could proceed with efforts to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelans. Ending TPS, which protects foreign citizens who cannot return home because of war, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances, could open up approximately 350,000 people for potential deportation.
Agencies contributed reporting
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Trump wrote that the two sides agreed to a 20% tariff rate on all goods sent from Vietnam to the US and a 40% tariff rate on transshipment — essentially, when goods from China or other countries are routed through Vietnam. Tariffs on goods from the country were previously set to return to 46% on July 9. Vietnam also lowered tariffs on US goods to zero, Trump said, and is lowering trade barriers. The president suggested US automakers could introduce more SUVs to the Southeast Asian country. "In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade," Trump wrote. "In other words, they will 'OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,' meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff." The US and Vietnam are said to be very close to a establishing a trade framework that will see goods given a scaled range of tariffs depending on the percentage of foreign content, according to people familiar with the talks. Reuters reports: Read more here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
