Deportation Flights Trumped by Courts (Newsletter)
Militarization of US Southern Border Continues
THE WEEK IN BRIEF:
The Alien Enemies Act invocation and El Salvador renditions have days in court: The Trump administration sent 17 more detained people—10 Salvadorans and 7 Venezuelans—from Guantánamo to El Salvador’s Center for Containment of Terrorism (CECOT) prison. Federal courts are probing violations of a restraining order against the use of the Alien Enemies Act, as we continue to learn about people removed to the Salvadoran prison despite a lack of criminal background. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recognized that at least one man, Kilmar Ábrego García, was removed in error, but the administration is not asking El Salvador to release him.
Notes about deportation flights: A Boston federal judge barred the Trump administration from deporting migrants to third countries without allowing them to argue that they might be harmed. Deportation flights to Venezuela have resumed. Reports highlight unsafe conditions and abuse aboard ICE’s deportation flights with little accountability or transparency.
US Army Stryker crew & Border Patrol Agents in the “Big Bend” area of West Texas. (US Border Patrol photos) Notes on the U.S. military’s border and migration role: The U.S. military presence at the border has grown to over 6,700 active-duty troops, expected to grow to 10,000. Roles and equipment are expanding, and the price tag since January 20 is now $376 million since January 20. The Guantánamo base now holds about 85 migrants at a very high cost. Senators visiting the base criticized it as a wasteful, likely illegal attempt to bypass due process.
Low border numbers in March: Border Patrol recorded 7,180 migrant apprehensions in March, the lowest monthly total in decades, amid a near-total shutdown of asylum access. Shelters are empty, aid groups are scaling back, and migrant injuries from wall falls have declined. In Panama, migration through the Darién Gap plummeted to less than 200 in March.
Noem’s travel to Latin America: Homeland Security Secretary Kristie Noem visited El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico. Her appearance at El Salvador’s CECOT, shooting a video using jailed people as a backdrop, drew criticism. In Colombia, Noem signed a biometric data-sharing agreement. In Mexico, she claimed some progress toward a similar deal.
NOTE: This summary was generated from a far more comprehensive weekly summary by wola.org, which you can read HERE.
(If you found this summary helpful, I invite you to support WOLA’s work).
Finally, in case you missed it:
(Stories US Border News covered during the past week):
Border "Cartel Islands" Fight Erupts Among Texas Agencies
What raised a ruckus on the Rio Grande?
Tariffs Put Federal Officers on Frontline of Trade War
US Customs & Border Protection enforces tariffs
Fact Check: Are Border Arrests at "All-Time Low"?
Has history been made on the US-Mexico Border?
Border Security: Texas Claims More "Cartel Islands" on Rio Grande
State seeks Trump's approval
Texas Governor vs "Sharia City" Battle Heats Up
Criminal investigation by Texas Rangers ordered
I remain committed to delivering a US Border Newsletter that is not only educational and insightful but also engaging and easy to digest in five minutes or less.
(How am I doing? Let me know in the comments!)
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
