Noem sends warning to immigrants as she tours El Salvador prison
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) as prisoners look out from a cell, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on Wednesday. Photo: Alex Brandon/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday visited El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison, where Venezuelans the Trump administration alleges are gang members were deported to from the U.S.
Why it matters: The administration's decision to defy a court order and deport the 238 Venezuelans and subsequent legal battle marks a test in the limits of President Trump's hardline immigration enforcement powers.
- Noem's visit suggests the administration won't back down on its policy to accelerate mass deportations, with little to no due process, of Venezuelan immigrants suspected of being gang members under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
State of play: A federal appeals court in D.C. on Wednesday denied the Trump administration's request to lift a temporary restraining order blocking the deportation of immigrants using this act.
- ACLU and Democracy Forward are suing the administration over the action and accuse it of illegally invoking the act for immigration enforcement, violating its limits and "improperly attempting to bypass the procedures and protections in immigration law."
What she's saying: "If you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you could face," Noem said in a video, as she stood in front of a packed cell of tattooed prisoners — some displaying the letters "MS," which can signal membership in the Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).
Between the lines: The Trump administration has pointed to tattoos as evidence of gang affiliation but gang experts say those aren't reliable identifiers.
- Defense attorneys argued in court filings that the U.S. government moved to detain "at least five men" partly due to tattoos that immigration authorities believed signified gang connections, per NBC News.
- Family members contend that these tattoos show the men are not gang members, but actually "family men" or sports fans.
- Some tattoos seen in photos are popular images of Chicano and Latino culture, not dangerous gangs.
In photos: Noem tours El Salvador prison
Go deeper: Venezuelans Trump deported facing "significant harm" in prison, judge says
Editor's note: Russell Contreras contributed reporting.
