
Migrants Deported From US To Salvadoran Prison Remain Under US Control, Salvadoran Officials Tell UN
The revelation was contained in court filings Monday by lawyers for more than 100 migrants who are seeking to challenge their deportations to El Salvador's mega-prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. The case is among several challenging President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. 'In this context, the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities,' Salvadoran officials wrote in response to queries from the unit of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The UN group has been looking into the fate of the men who were sent to El Salvador from the US in mid-March, even after a US judge had ordered the planes that were carrying them to be turned around.
The Trump administration has argued that it is powerless to return the men, noting that they are beyond the reach of US courts and no longer have access to due process rights or other US constitutional guarantees. But lawyers for the migrants said the UN report shows otherwise. 'El Salvador has confirmed what we and everyone else understood: it is the US that controls what happens to the Venezuelans languishing at CECOT. Remarkably, the US government didn't provide this information to us or the court,' American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Lee Gelerent said in an email. Skye Perryman, CEO and president of Democracy Forward, said the documents show that the administration has not been honest with the court or the American people. The ACLU and Democracy Forward are both representing the migrants.
The administration in March agreed to pay $6 million for El Salvador to house 300 migrants. The deal sparked immediate controversy when Trump invoked an 18th-century wartime law–the Alien Enemies Act–to quickly remove men it has accused of being members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
In a related case, the administration mistakenly sent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the same prison despite a judge's order prohibiting the Maryland man from being sent to El Salvador. The administration initially resisted court orders to bring him back to the US, saying he was no longer in American custody. Eventually, Abrego Garcia was returned to the US, where he now faces criminal charges of human smuggling while legal battles continue.
Last month, a coalition of immigrant rights groups sued to invalidate the prison deal with El Salvador, arguing that the arrangement to move migrant detainees outside the reach of US courts violates the Constitution.
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Saudi Gazette
an hour ago
- Saudi Gazette
US sanctions UN expert Francesca Albanese, critic of Israel's Gaza offensive
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The move is likely to provoke a fierce backlash from those who argue for accountability over the civilian death toll from Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The special rapporteur has long argued that Western governments are not doing enough to support the rights of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories. Her outspoken stance has attracted significant support among those who accuse Israeli and US leaders of weaponising accusations of antisemitism in order to silence scrutiny of their policies. Her critics have pointed to language used in the past by Albanese, including a 2014 comment when she suggested the "Jewish lobby" was influencing US government decisions when it came to Israel and the Palestinians. She is since reported to have said she regretted the remark, but rejected claims it was antisemitic. The head of Amnesty International and former UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard said she was dismayed by the decision to sanction Albanese. "Governments around the world and all actors who believe in the rule-based order and international law must do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect of the sanctions against Francesca Albanese," she said. Rubio said Albanese had shown contempt for the US by writing "threatening letters" to several US companies, making what he called unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue prosecutions of the companies and their executives. "We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty," Rubio said. Earlier this month Albanese called on dozens of multinational companies to stop doing business with Israel, warning them they risked being complicit in war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. She said the companies "profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide" in the occupied Palestinian territories. 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Some 125 countries are parties to the Rome Statute that established the ICC and are protected by it, as well as bound by their membership to uphold the court's decisions. The US, like Israel, is not a member of the court. It has sided with Israel, its staunch ally, which it has armed throughout the Gaza war, against the Netanyahu arrest warrant, while many European countries have said they respect the court's independence in the case. The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 57,575 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has also been displaced multiple times. 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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
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Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Former DOGE official rushed grant to Trump-backed Gaza aid group over staff objections
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