Overview

• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 26, highlighting the administration's immigration enforcement efforts.
• The Venezuelans were deported on March 15 under the rarely used 1798 Alien Enemies Act, despite a federal judge's verbal order to halt the flights.
• The detainees are held without charges in overcrowded, restrictive conditions, with no clear legal framework or access to consular support due to severed ties between El Salvador and Venezuela.
• A federal appeals court recently upheld a block on further deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, intensifying legal battles over the policy's application.
• Families and human rights groups dispute the gang affiliations alleged by the U.S., noting many deportees lack criminal records and were denied due process.