Latest news with #LeeGelernt
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
El Salvador: Detained migrants are responsibility of US
The government of El Salvador has formally asserted it is the U.S., not the Central American nation, that retains 'legal responsibility' for Venezuelans held in a Salvadoran megaprison, contracting Trump administration claims. The disclosure was made to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and submitted in court filings by those challenging President Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to send some 200 Venezuelan men to be held in the country's most notorious prison. 'The jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters,' El Salvador said, referring to the U.S. The comments are at odds with statements given by White House and Department of Justice officials, who have claimed they cannot seek the return of the men, as they are now in the custody of the Salvadoran government. 'El Salvador has confirmed what we and everyone else understood: it is the United States that controls what happens to the Venezuelans languishing at CECOT. Remarkably the U.S. government didn't provide this information to us or the court,' American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer Lee Gelernt, who is representing some of the men, said in an email. The filing from the ACLU seeks to order additional discovery in the case and argues the Trump administration violated its obligation to share information about its arrangement with El Savlador. In an April meeting in the White House with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, President Trump said it was up to the Salvadoran leader whether to release a man who was the subject of another case — mistakenly deported Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia. And in court, the Trump administration has argued it was powerless in any effort to secure the return of the men, saying they were beyond the reach of the U.S. legal system and that their fate rests with El Salvador. The Trump administration in mid-March deported Venezuelans to the infamous CECOT prison, known by its acronym in Spanish, as well as some Salvadorans. A Justice Department whistleblower has accused Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove of suggesting the department may need to defy court orders grounding flights set to deport men under the Alien Enemies Act. The Trump administration has agreed to pay El Salvador $15 million to imprison the men, according to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who shared the figure after traveling to El Salvador to meet with government officials as well as Abrego Garcia. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
El Salvador: Detained migrants are responsibility of US
The government of El Salvador has formally asserted it is the U.S., not the Central American nation, that retains 'legal responsibility' for Venezuelans held in one of their megaprisons, contracting Trump administration claims. The disclosure was made to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and submitted in court filings by those challenging President Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to send some 200 Venezuelan men to be held in the country's most notorious prison. 'The jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters,' El Salvador said, referring to the U.S. The comments are at odds with statements given by White House and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, who have claimed they cannot seek the return of the men, as they are now in the custody of the Salvadoran government. 'El Salvador has confirmed what we and everyone else understood: it is the United States that controls what happens to the Venezuelans languishing at CECOT. Remarkably the U.S. government didn't provide this information to us or the court,' American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer Lee Gelernt, who is representing some of the men, said in an email. The filing from the ACLU seeks to order additional discovery in the case and argues the Trump administration violated its obligation to share information about its arrangement with El Savlador. In a meeting in the White House with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, President Trump said it was up to the Salvadoran leader whether to release a man who was the subject of another case — mistakenly deported man Kilmar Abrego Garcia. And in court, the Trump administration has argued they were powerless in any effort to secure the return of the men, saying they were beyond the reach of the U.S. legal system and that their fate rests with El Salvador. The Trump administration in mid-March deported Venezuelans to the infamous CECOT prison, known by its acronym in Spanish, as well as some Salvadorans. A DOJ whistleblower has accused principal associate deputy attorney general Emil Bove of suggesting the department may need to defy court orders grounding flights set to deport men under the Alien Enemies Act. The Trump administration has agreed to pay El Salvador $15 million to imprison the men, according to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who shared the figure after traveling to El Salvador to meet with government officials as well as Abrego Garcia.
Newsweek
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
El Salvador Says Trump Admin Controls Migrants in Notorious CECOT Prison
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The government of El Salvador told United Nations investigators that the Trump administration retains control over a group of Venezuelan men deported from the U.S. to a controversial Salvadoran prison—contradicting public claims made by officials in both countries. The admission appears in new court filings by attorneys for more than 100 migrants contesting their deportation to the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a high-security facility infamous for alleged human rights abuses. Salvadoran authorities, responding to questions from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that "jurisdiction and legal responsibility" for the detainees rests solely with U.S. officials. The deportations occurred in March, despite a judge's order to halt the flights. The Trump administration has argued that the men are now outside U.S. legal jurisdiction and no longer protected by constitutional rights. However, lawyers for the deportees say the U.N. response undermines that claim. "El Salvador has confirmed what we and everyone else understood: it is the United States that controls what happens to the Venezuelans languishing at CECOT," said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt. The administration had paid El Salvador $6 million to detain 300 migrants under a deal justified using the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act. That arrangement, and a mistaken deportation involving a Maryland resident barred by court order from being sent abroad, have drawn lawsuits and sharp criticism from immigrant rights groups, who argue the policy violates constitutional due process. This article includes reporting by the Associated Press. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judges consider whether Trump can use wartime act against Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua
Immigration and administration lawyers on Monday battled over whether President Donald Trump can use an 18th century wartime act against a Venezuelan gang in a case that is likely to ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The attorneys sparred before a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, the latest step in a tangled legal battle over Trump's March invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against the Tren de Aragua gang. The law has only previously been used during World Wars I and II and the War of 1812. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told the three-judge panel that Trump's use of it is inappropriate. 'This has only been invoked three times in major, major wars, and now it's being invoked in connection with a gang,' Gelernt said. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign, arguing for the administration, said that courts cannot second-guess a president's determination that the U.S. faces a threat from abroad and requires extraordinary measures to protect itself. He noted that the only time the high court weighed in on the act was in a case that dates from after fighting in Europe ended in World War II, when the court said it could not second-guess then-President Harry Truman's assertion that suspected Nazis should still be held under the act because the war was still continuing. 'The president is due the utmost deference' in matters of foreign affairs and security, Ensign said. Trump's invocation has already been twice before the nation's highest court on more technical issues. First, the court found that those accused of being TdA members deserved a 'reasonable' amount of time to challenge that designation in court, but that their deportations could only be challenged in the locations they were held. That eliminated a national bar against deportations under the act issued by a federal judge in Washington, who later found the administration possibly committed contempt when it disregarded his orders and continued to fly some held under the AEA to a prison in El Salvador. Then, after the ACLU and its allies began filing suits all around the country and winning rulings barring deportations under the measure, the high court stepped in a second time. In April it issued an unusual post-midnight ruling stopping the administration from deporting people from a slice of north Texas where there was yet no active ruling against removal. As multiple lower court judges found the AEA couldn't be used against a gang, the high court directed the 5th Circuit to consider the issue and how much time those held should have to challenge their designation. The government, which initially provided minimal notice, now says the standard should be seven days to file an appeal. The ACLU argued for 30 days, the amount of time given to suspected Nazis held during World War II. The panel that heard Monday's arguments was comprised of one judge appointed by Trump, one by former President George W. Bush and one by Biden. Whatever it rules can be appealed to either the entire 5th circuit — one of the most conservative federal appeals courts in the country — or directly to the high court. Trump has argued that TdA is acting at the behest of Venezuela's government. The Act allows its use to combat either an 'invasion' or a 'predatory incursion.' But the ACLU argues that the connection between the gang and the Venezuelan government is tangential at best, and that an assessment by 17 different intelligence agencies found little coordination between TdA and the government in Caracas. Gelernt contended that, by the standards laid out by the administration, the AEA could have been used against the mafia or any other criminal organization with tangential ties to other countries that has operated in the United States over the past 200 years.
Associated Press
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judges consider whether Trump can use wartime act against Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua
Immigration and administration lawyers on Monday battled over whether President Donald Trump can use an 18th century wartime act against a Venezuelan gang in a case that is likely to ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The attorneys sparred before a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, the latest step in a tangled legal battle over Trump's March invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against the Tren de Aragua gang. The law has only previously been used during World Wars I and II and the War of 1812. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told the three-judge panel that Trump's use of it is inappropriate. 'This has only been invoked three times in major, major wars, and now it's being invoked in connection with a gang,' Gelernt said. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign, arguing for the administration, said that courts cannot second-guess a president's determination that the U.S. faces a threat from abroad and requires extraordinary measures to protect itself. He noted that the only time the high court weighed in on the act was in a case that dates from after fighting in Europe ended in World War II, when the court said it could not second-guess then-President Harry Truman's assertion that suspected Nazis should still be held under the act because the war was still continuing. 'The president is due the utmost deference' in matters of foreign affairs and security, Ensign said. Trump's invocation has already been twice before the nation's highest court on more technical issues. First, the court found that those accused of being TdA members deserved a 'reasonable' amount of time to challenge that designation in court, but that their deportations could only be challenged in the locations they were held. That eliminated a national bar against deportations under the act issued by a federal judge in Washington, who later found the administration possibly committed contempt when it disregarded his orders and continued to fly some held under the AEA to a prison in El Salvador. Then, after the ACLU and its allies began filing suits all around the country and winning rulings barring deportations under the measure, the high court stepped in a second time. In April it issued an unusual post-midnight ruling stopping the administration from deporting people from a slice of north Texas where there was yet no active ruling against removal. As multiple lower court judges found the AEA couldn't be used against a gang, the high court directed the 5th Circuit to consider the issue and how much time those held should have to challenge their designation. The government, which initially provided minimal notice, now says the standard should be seven days to file an appeal. The ACLU argued for 30 days, the amount of time given to suspected Nazis held during World War II. The panel that heard Monday's arguments was comprised of one judge appointed by Trump, one by former President George W. Bush and one by Biden. Whatever it rules can be appealed to either the entire 5th circuit — one of the most conservative federal appeals courts in the country — or directly to the high court. Trump has argued that TdA is acting at the behest of Venezuela's government. The Act allows its use to combat either an 'invasion' or a 'predatory incursion.' But the ACLU argues that the connection between the gang and the Venezuelan government is tangential at best, and that an assessment by 17 different intelligence agencies found little coordination between TdA and the government in Caracas. Gelernt contended that, by the standards laid out by the administration, the AEA could have been used against the mafia or any other criminal organization with tangential ties to other countries that has operated in the United States over the past 200 years.
