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The Hill
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Venezuelan migrant files wrongful detention claim against DHS
A documented Venezuelan migrant, deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador, filed an administrative claim to the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday over what he describes as his illegal removal from U.S. territory. Neiyerver Andrián Leon Rengel was sent in March to the infamous CECOT prison under the Alien Enemies Act, along with 17 other alleged Tren de Aragua gang members. He said that during this time he suffered 'physical, verbal and emotional abuse.' He was deported two days after a federal judge issued an order prohibiting deportation to third countries, which has since has been reversed by the Supreme Court. It was found in May that the majority of the immigrants sent to El Salvador were not undocumented. A federal judge ruled on June 4 that the deportees must be given a legal avenue to challenge their gang-affiliation accusations. After three months in prison, on July 18, he was sent back to his home country, along with 250 other deportees, in a prison exchange deal organized by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Venezuela 's attorney general opened an investigation against Bukele for human rights abuses within the prison. The claim, filed to Office of the General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, states that Rengel suffers psychological and emotional distress and that he did not receive due process. 'As a result of White House, DHS, ICE, DOJ, and State Department officials' negligent and unlawful acts, Rengel suffered a loss of his liberty, removal from the United States, and months-long detention at the notoriously inhumane CECOT, all of which has caused substantial and continuing emotional distress,' reads the claim. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Hill in a statement that Rengel entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 and that he is associated with the Tren de Aragua gang. 'Tren de Aragua is a vicious gang that rapes, maims, and murders for sport,' McLaughlin said. 'This illegal alien was deemed a public safety threat as a confirmed associate of the Tren de Aragua gang and processed for removal from the U.S.' Rengel was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 13, his 27th birthday, in Irving, Texas. According to the claim, he presented his documents to ICE agents showing he had a legal temporary status and an immigration appointment in 2028. Agents rejected the documents and claimed he was part of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, which he denies. Once taken into custody, Rengel's claim says he was denied a phone call. ICE presented him with a document in English, even though he requested a Spanish translation, which gave him two options: be deported or see a judge. Rengel asked to see a judge but was never given the opportunity. According to the claim, on March 15, ICE told him he would be deported to Venezuela. It was not until the plane landed in El Salvador that Rengel realized he was not home and that immigration authorities had lied to him. His mother and brother had been trying to find him for months with no help from government agencies. Rengel is represented by The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). 'His story is a wake-up call for every American who believes in the promise of the Constitution and the rule of law. We must not allow political agendas to trample due process and the fundamental rights guaranteed to all people in this country,' said Juan Proaño, LULAC Chief Executive Officer.
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Migrant sent to El Salvador prison by the Trump administration says he was beaten by guards
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Homeland Security said in an email that Rengel was a 'confirmed associate' of the Tren de Aragua gang — though it did not specify how it reached that conclusion — who had entered the country illegally. It called his claims a fake 'sob story.' Advertisement 'President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow foreign terrorist enemies to operate in our country and endanger Americans,' the email said. It added, 'We hear far too much about gang members and criminals' false sob stories and not enough about their victims.' Advertisement At El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, Rengel said guards hit him with fists and batons and, on one occasion, viciously beat him after taking him to an area of the prison without cameras. Rengel was sent to Venezuela earlier this month They are seeking compensation for emotional and psychological injuries. A federal judge ruled in June that the Trump administration must give some of the migrants sent to the prison in El Salvador a chance to challenge their deportations. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg said the people hadn't been able to formally contest the removals or allegations that they were members of Tren de Aragua. He ordered the administration to work toward giving them a way to file those challenges. The judge wrote that 'significant evidence' had surfaced indicating that many of the migrants were not connected to the gang 'and thus were languishing in a foreign prison on flimsy, even frivolous, accusations.' At a hearing on Thursday, an attorney for the Trump administration told Boasberg it would not immediately bring the migrants sent from El Salvador to Venezuela as part of the prisoner exchange back to the U.S. Trump officials planned to await the outcome of other court cases before deciding whether to allow the migrants to return, U.S. Department of Justice attorney Tiberius Davis said. Boasberg had ordered the administration to turn planes carrying the accused gang members around, but the demand was ignored. Rengel's attorneys say he was on one of those planes. Advertisement The judge has found probable cause that the administration committed contempt of court. Boasberg said Thursday he planned to expand his contempt probe to include a recent whistleblower complaint that claims a top Justice Department official suggested the Trump administration might have to ignore court orders as it prepared to deport Venezuelan migrants it accused of being gang members.
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Deported Venezuelan man files abuse complaint against the US government
A Venezuelan man deported from the United States has issued a complaint against the administration of President Donald Trump, saying he was wrongfully sent to a Salvadoran prison where he suffered beatings and other forms of abuse. Thursday's complaint is the first of its kind from one of the more than 250 Venezuelan men sent in March to the Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), a maximum-security prison in El Salvador known for human rights abuses. In filing a complaint against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 27-year-old barber Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel has taken a first step towards suing the Trump administration. He and his lawyers from the Democracy Defenders Fund are seeking $1.3m in damages for alleged abuse. Rengel claims the Trump administration falsely accused him of being a gang member in order to circumvent his right to due process and swiftly deport him. 'For more than four months, Rengel languished in El Salvador – which is not his country of origin and a place where he has no ties – where he suffered physical, verbal and psychological abuse,' the complaint said. President Trump campaigned for a second term on the promise that he would implement a policy of mass deportation, and in March, the Republican leader invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify the rapid expulsions of alleged gang members. That law, however, had been invoked only three times prior in US history – and only during times of war. Critics accused Trump of overstepping his constitutional authority by leveraging the law to advance his domestic platform, while trampling on the rights of immigrants. Trump, however, argued that the law was necessary to stem what he described as an 'invasion' of criminals into the US. Rengel was arrested on March 13 as part of that deportation sweep under the Alien Enemies Act. According to his complaint, immigration agents nabbed him in the car park outside his apartment in Irving, Texas, and accused him of being a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua based on his tattoos. Rengel was in the process of seeking legal status. He had entered the US in June 2023 after successfully receiving an appointment through the CBP One app, which was, at the time, the official portal for asylum claims and other immigration processing at the US-Mexico border. He had an appointment before an immigration judge scheduled for 2028. But according to his complaint, his life was upended when he was arrested and sent to an immigration detention facility. There, he said, members of the DHS falsely indicated he would be returned to his native Venezuela. Instead, he was placed on a deportation flight to El Salvador. Cameras filmed the 250-plus Venezuelan men being disembarked and bussed to the CECOT prison, where their heads were shaved and they were forced to march, handcuffed and heads bowed, into cells. The facility is designed to hold up to 40,000 people. The Trump administration reportedly paid nearly $6m to El Salvador to imprison the deported men. Once inside the CECOT prison, Rengel alleges that he was struck with beaten – sometimes with batons, sometimes with bare fists – including at least one occasion where he was moved to an area where the prison had no cameras. Earlier this month, Rengel was part of a prisoner exchange that saw all of the deported Venezuelan men released from CECOT and sent back to their home country, in exchange for the freedom of alleged political detainees and 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela. Rengel has since remained with his mother, 'terrified' of the prospect of returning to the US, according to his lawyers. His complaint was made in compliance with the Federal Tort Claims Act, which sets a pathway for lawsuits against the federal government. It gives the government a maximum of six months to respond to the allegations before a suit can be filed. Already, the Trump administration released a statement signalling it plans to fight Rengel's claims. It doubled down on its accusation that Rengel was a gang member. 'President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem will not allow foreign terrorist enemies to operate in our country and endanger Americans,' the Department of Homeland Security told The Associated Press news agency. 'We hear far too much about gang members and criminals' false sob stories and not enough about their victims.' The Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act to expedite deportations has been the subject of numerous legal challenges. US District Court Judge James Boasberg had ordered the deportation flights in March to return to the US and has since indicated that the Trump administration may be in contempt of court for failing to do so. In June, Boasberg further ruled that the deported Venezuelan men must be given the opportunity to challenge their removals in US courts. His decision indicated that there was 'significant evidence' that many of the men were languishing 'in a foreign prison on flimsy, even frivolous, accusations'.
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Migrant sent to El Salvador prison by the Trump administration says he was beaten by guards
WASHINGTON — A migrant from Venezuela deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador has taken the first step toward suing the U.S. government, saying he was wrongly sent to a notorious prison in the Central American country where he was beaten by guards and kept from contacting his family or an attorney. Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, 27, has filed a claim for $1.3 million with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, his attorneys with Democracy Defenders Fund said Thursday. Rengel is among more than 250 migrants from Venezuela sent to El Salvador in March, out of the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, after President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Immigration agents took Rengel into custody on March 13 in the parking lot of his apartment in Irving, Texas, wrongly claiming his tattoos reflected an affiliation with Tren de Aragua, according to his claim. He had entered the U.S. in 2023. He worked as a barber and was scheduled to appear before an immigration judge in 2028. Homeland Security said in an email that Rengel was a 'confirmed associate' of the Tren de Aragua gang — though it did not specify how it reached that conclusion — who had entered the country illegally. It called his claims a fake 'sob story.' 'President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow foreign terrorist enemies to operate in our country and endanger Americans,' the email said. It added, 'We hear far too much about gang members and criminals' false sob stories and not enough about their victims.' At El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, Rengel said guards hit him with fists and batons and, on one occasion, viciously beat him after taking him to an area of the prison without cameras. Rengel was sent to Venezuela earlier this month as part of a prisoner exchange deal. His attorneys say he is living with his mother and is 'terrified' to return to the United States. They are seeking compensation for emotional and psychological injuries. A federal judge ruled in June that the Trump administration must give some of the migrants sent to the prison in El Salvador a chance to challenge their deportations. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg said the people hadn't been able to formally contest the removals or allegations that they were members of Tren de Aragua. He ordered the administration to work toward giving them a way to file those challenges. The judge wrote that 'significant evidence' had surfaced indicating that many of the migrants were not connected to the gang 'and thus were languishing in a foreign prison on flimsy, even frivolous, accusations.' At a hearing on Thursday, an attorney for the Trump administration told Boasberg it would not immediately bring the migrants sent from El Salvador to Venezuela as part of the prisoner exchange back to the U.S. Trump officials planned to await the outcome of other court cases before deciding whether to allow the migrants to return, U.S. Department of Justice attorney Tiberius Davis said. Boasberg had ordered the administration to turn planes carrying the accused gang members around, but the demand was ignored. Rengel's attorneys say he was on one of those planes. The judge has found probable cause that the administration committed contempt of court. Boasberg said Thursday he planned to expand his contempt probe to include a recent whistleblower complaint that claims a top Justice Department official suggested the Trump administration might have to ignore court orders as it prepared to deport Venezuelan migrantsit accused of being gang members.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Deported Venezuelan imprisoned in El Salvador files formal complaint against US
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - A Venezuelan man filed a formal complaint on Thursday against the U.S. government for sending him to El Salvador's most notorious prison, a new legal strategy that could be duplicated by others who have said they were falsely accused of gang membership by President Donald Trump's administration. Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, 27, filed what it called an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, contending that federal employees wrongfully removed him from the United States without cause or due process. Rengel's complaint, which seeks $1.3 million in monetary damages, is not a lawsuit brought in a court but rather an action filed with the government alleging a violation of law. It is the first of its kind brought by one of the 252 Venezuelan men who were deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March. He invoked the Federal Tort Claims Act, a U.S. law that allows people to sue the U.S. government for wrongful acts committed by federal employees acting within the scope of their employment. Under that law, a complaint must be filed with the appropriate agency before a lawsuit can be brought. The government now has six months to investigate and respond to Rengel's complaint. If it denies his claim or fails to respond in that time period, Rengel could then sue in federal court. The Republican president, who campaigned in last year's election on a pledge of mass deportations, in March invoked a 1798 statute called the Alien Enemies Act as part of an effort to quickly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. The law authorizes the president to deport, detain or place restrictions on individuals whose primary allegiance is to a foreign power and who might pose a national security risk in wartime. The U.S. government last invoked the Alien Enemies Act, which historically has been employed only during wartime, during World War Two to intern and deport people of Japanese, German and Italian descent. The Venezuelan deportees were held incommunicado in El Salvador's maximum security CECOT prison until they were returned to Venezuela last week as part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Venezuela. Family and friends of some of them said the deportees were not gang members and were wrongly accused based on tattoos, hand gestures and clothing. Venezuelan government officials and deportees have said they were tortured in prison. Rengel's lawyers said in the complaint that, because of his tattoos, DHS employees detained him in the parking lot of his apartment in Irving, Texas, and falsely accused him of membership in the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a statement on Thursday reiterated the U.S. government's claim that Rengel was associated with Tren de Aragua and said he was "deemed a public safety threat." McLaughlin said Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "will not allow foreign terrorist enemies to operate in our country and endanger Americans." Rengel alleged that, after moving him to a detention center, DHS employees lied to him, telling him he was being sent to Venezuela. "Instead, for more than four months, Rengel languished in El Salvador – which is not his country of origin and a place where he has no ties – where he suffered physical, verbal and psychological abuse," the complaint said.
