A U.S. Air Force plane recently landed in El Salvador carrying 17 Venezuelans accused of being gang members, despite a judicial order temporarily blocking the U.S. government from deporting individuals to countries other than their own without allowing them to plead their case for safety.
The deportation took place after the Trump administration argued in federal court that it was justified in sending the Venezuelans to El Salvador. Activists, however, have raised concerns, stating that the deportees were sent to a prison notorious for human rights abuses, with little evidence to support the claim that they were indeed gang members.
The 17 Venezuelans were removed from the U.S. in March after former President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which grants the president wartime powers to deport noncitizens without due process.
A key issue surrounding the deportees is their uncertain future, as they are not serving sentences, leaving open the question of when, if ever, they might be released from prison.
