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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEl Salvador: Detained migrants are responsibility of US
by Rebecca Beitsch - 07/08/25 11:46 AM ET
The government of El Salvador has formally asserted it is the U.S., not the Central American nation, that retains legal responsibility for Venezuelans held in a Salvadoran megaprison, contracting Trump administration claims ...
The jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters, El Salvador said, referring to the U.S.
The comments are at odds with statements given by White House and Department of Justice officials, who have claimed they cannot seek the return of the men, as they are now in the custody of the Salvadoran government ...
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5389886-el-salvador-detained-migrants-venezuelans-megaprison-cecot-abrego-garcia/

struggle4progress
(123,806 posts)... Once there was a king who had a beautiful orchard with splendid figs. He appointed two watchmen for his orchard. One watchman was lame, and the other one was blind.
One day the lame man said to the blind man: I see beautiful figs in the orchard. Come, I will ride on your shoulders, and well take them and eat them. So the lame man rode on the shoulders of the blind man, and they took the fruits and ate them.
Some time after, the owner of the orchard came and inquired of them, Where are those beautiful figs? The lame man replied, Have I feet to walk with? The blind man replied, Have I eyes to see with?
What did the king do? He placed the lame watchman on the shoulders of the blind watchman, and judged them together ...
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/352254/jewish/The-Two-Watchmen.htm
LetMyPeopleVote
(166,528 posts)The trump DOJ has lied to a good number of judges
President Donald Trump's administration controls the fate of migrants it has deported to other countries like El Salvador, officials claimed in a court filing on Monday.
— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2025-07-08T01:00:16.943Z
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-deportations-2672870359/
The claims contradict the Trump administration's position that it has no authority to return the migrants once they've been sent elsewhere. That was the argument they used to try and circumvent a court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison to the United States.
Salvadoran officials pushed back on those claims in a new court filing, saying that "the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters."
Said another way: The Trump administration "is in charge" of the migrants even after they cross U.S. borders, Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, told The Washington Post.
Trump has deported immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, a centuries-old law that allows the president to immediately deport people during wartime. In past media appearances, Trump has described illegal immigration in the United States as an invasion, although he has not officially filed a declaration of war against any country.
The Supreme Court has also said that the Trump administration needs to allow immigrants who are being deported sufficient time to challenge the claims made against them.
LetMyPeopleVote
(166,528 posts)A judge is mad about being lied to by the trump DOJ
JUST IN: Judge Gallagher says either El Salvador is lying to the UN or the administration is lying to her about the people deported to CECOT.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney.bsky.social) 2025-07-08T18:35:00.823Z
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...


LetMyPeopleVote
(166,528 posts)The trump DOJ lied to a couple of different courts about the ability of the US to return detainees. Three or four months ago, El Salvador made a filing with the United Nations stating that the US retains jurisdiction over all detainees/deportees. Now a court wants to find out if the trump DOJ lied to the court
Attorneys representing a group of detainees at CECOT filed a UN report in which El Salvador said the U.S. still has legal responsiblity for deported migrants.
Link to tweet
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/dmv-immigration/judge-demands-answers-from-trump-administration-after-el-salvador-says-us-still-holds-jurisdiction-over-deported-migrants-cristian-abrego-garcia/65-a8b40c5f-3464-4972-a588-67872e8da43e
In a letter to counsel Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher said a report from the UNs Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances appeared to directly cut against claims by the Justice Department that the U.S. has no control over the group of immigration detainees sent to El Salvadors notorious CECOT prison earlier this year. Gallagher took judicial notice of the report, which was filed Monday in a separate case in federal court in D.C. involving a challenge to President Donald Trumps invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to order immediate deportations of a group of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
The report details the Salvadoran governments responses to Venezuelan families seeking information about loved ones who were deported from the U.S. to El Salvador. In it, the Salvadoran government disclaims any legal responsibility for the detainees and says they remain under the jurisdiction of the U.S. government:
The actions of the State of El Salvador have been limited to the implementation of a bilateral cooperation mechanism with another State, through which it has facilitated the use of the Salvadoran prison infrastructure for the custody of persons detained within the scope of the justice system and law enforcement of that other State. In this context, the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters.
The report details the Salvadoran governments responses to Venezuelan families seeking information about loved ones who were deported from the U.S. to El Salvador. In it, the Salvadoran government disclaims any legal responsibility for the detainees and says they remain under the jurisdiction of the U.S. government:
The actions of the State of El Salvador have been limited to the implementation of a bilateral cooperation mechanism with another State, through which it has facilitated the use of the Salvadoran prison infrastructure for the custody of persons detained within the scope of the justice system and law enforcement of that other State. In this context, the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters.
Gallagher wrote that if El Salvador told the truth to the UN, no diplomatic discussions should be required to bring Cristian back to the U.S. She ordered the DOJ to explain its position that diplomatic discussions are required to return Cristian no later than next Tuesday.