Judge orders due‑process for Venezuelans sent to El Salvador’s CECOT prison; migrants and Venezuela vow lawsuit
Federal Judge James Boasberg ruled that the Trump administration violated due process by deporting a class of Venezuelan men (reported as between 137 and 252) to El Salvador’s CECOT prison under the Alien Enemies Act, finding they remained in constructive U.S. custody and ordering the government by Jan. 5 to either bring them back to the United States or provide constitutionally adequate hearings (in person or remotely). The men — flown to El Salvador in March and returned to Venezuela in a U.S.‑brokered swap in July after months in CECOT where human‑rights groups and detainees reported abuse — and Venezuelan officials say they will pursue legal action, while the U.S. government is expected to appeal.
📌 Key Facts
- U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison were in U.S. legal (constructive) custody and that the deportations violated their due‑process rights, including lack of prior notice, a meaningful opportunity to contest removal, and the chance to dispute alleged Tren de Aragua gang designations.
- The judge ordered the administration to submit by Jan. 5 a plan to either return the affected migrants to the United States for in‑person hearings or to provide constitutionally adequate hearings abroad (including remote procedures if they meet constitutional standards).
- Boasberg concluded the U.S. effectively controlled the detainees’ confinement — citing U.S.–El Salvador agreements, U.S. officials’ statements, and U.S. payments — and warned that secretly transferring people overseas to avoid judicial review would undermine habeas protections; the Justice Department is expected to appeal.
- Multiple human‑rights reports and former detainees describe severe abuses and harsh conditions at CECOT, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, constant beatings, some sexual abuse, poor nutrition, unsanitary conditions, and physical and psychological torture.
- Timeline and returns: the men were flown to El Salvador in March and were released and returned to Venezuela in July as part of a U.S.‑brokered prisoner swap.
- Reported figures vary by outlet: some reports identify 137 men covered by the judge’s holding (noting they are a subset of more than 200 deported in March), while another report states the order applies to 252 Venezuelan men.
- After the ruling, roughly two dozen former detainees held a press conference in Caracas demanding justice, and Venezuela’s government (Vice Minister Camilla Fabri) said it is working with a U.S. bar association and human‑rights organizations to prepare a major lawsuit against former President Trump and the United States government.
- El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele publicly challenged critics of CECOT — offering to release the country’s entire prison population to any country willing to receive them — and framed such moves as a way to test claims about conditions and prioritize Salvadorans’ safety from gang rule.
📊 Relevant Data
More than half of the 238 Venezuelan deportees sent to El Salvador's CECOT prison in March 2025 had no criminal record in the U.S. and were classified solely as immigration law violators.
Most Venezuelans Sent to El Salvador Had No Criminal Convictions — CONNECTAS
A CBS News investigation found that 75% of the Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador had no criminal records in the United States or abroad, with most of the rest having committed minor offenses.
50+ Venezuelans Imprisoned in El Salvador Came to US Legally, Never Violated Immigration Law — Cato Institute
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 has been invoked only three times prior to 2025: during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II, always in the context of formally declared wars against enemy nations.
Tapping Ancient Wartime and Security Laws, Trump Administration Deports Venezuelans to Third Country — Migration Policy Institute
Venezuela's economic and political chaos, driven by mismanagement of its oil-dependent economy, has led to millions fleeing since 2014, with factors including domestic political crises, weakening economies, COVID-19, and natural disasters contributing to migration flows.
Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate — Council on Foreign Relations
In Colombia, a 1% increase in the proportion of Venezuelan immigrants to residents raised housing rents by an average of some amount in main cities, according to a 2022 study, though direct U.S.-specific data on housing impacts is limited.
Assessing the impact of recent Venezuelan immigration on housing rental prices in Colombia — Regional Science Policy & Practice
📰 Sources (8)
Venezuelan migrants sent to El Salvador demand justice after US judge ruling
New information:
- Roughly two dozen of the Venezuelan men held at El Salvador’s CECOT prison held a press conference in Caracas demanding justice and international human‑rights support after the U.S. court ruling.
- Some of the men described ongoing fear of leaving home or encountering law enforcement and alleged physical and psychological torture while imprisoned in El Salvador.
- Several migrants said they do not wish to return to the U.S., with one, Nolberto Aguilar, quoted saying, "I don’t trust them" about the U.S. government.
- The article states that the federal judge’s order applies to 252 Venezuelan men, a higher figure than the 137 previously cited, and reiterates they were accused of being Tren de Aragua members and transferred under an 18th‑century wartime law.
- Venezuelan Vice Minister Camilla Fabri said Maduro’s government is working with a U.S. bar association and "all human rights organizations" to prepare a "major lawsuit against Trump and the United States government" over the episode.
- The timeline is clarified: the men were flown to El Salvador in March and were returned to Venezuela in July as part of a prisoner swap between the Trump administration and Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Bukele challenges Hillary Clinton to take El Salvador's entire prison population after criticism
New information:
- El Salvador President Nayib Bukele publicly responded on X to Hillary Clinton’s criticism of conditions at the CECOT prison, referencing the PBS Frontline documentary 'Surviving CECOT'.
- Bukele challenged critics by saying El Salvador is 'willing to release our entire prison population (including all gang leaders and all those described as "political prisoners") to any country willing to receive them,' with the condition that 'it must be everyone.'
- Bukele framed the offer as a way for journalists and NGOs to gain more testimonies from former prisoners to test claims of systemic abuse, while reiterating that his government will prioritize 'the human rights of the millions of Salvadorans who today live free from gang rule.'
- The article reiterates that the U.S. deported Venezuelan migrants it labeled Tren de Aragua members to CECOT after Venezuela refused to take them back, tying Bukele’s comments directly to that U.S. policy.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Boasberg says Trump must provide due process to CECOT migrants
New information:
- The Fox piece emphasizes that Boasberg found the Trump administration acted "in defiance of the court" when it proceeded with the March deportation flights to CECOT despite his earlier halt order.
- It details the specific due‑process elements Boasberg says were denied: prior notice of removal, a "meaningful opportunity" to contest removal from the U.S., and the opportunity to dispute designation as Tren de Aragua gang members.
- It reiterates that the judge has given the administration two weeks to spell out how it will provide due process, either in the U.S. or elsewhere, to the affected Venezuelan class.
Boasberg orders Trump to bring back CECOT migrant class deported in March
New information:
- Boasberg’s written opinion explicitly holds that the CECOT class was denied due-process rights, including prior notice of removal, a meaningful opportunity to contest removal, and the ability to dispute their designation as Tren de Aragua members.
- He orders the Trump administration to submit by Jan. 5 a plan to provide due process either by returning migrants to the U.S. for in‑person hearings or by facilitating constitutionally adequate hearings abroad.
- Boasberg relies on U.S.–El Salvador agreements and public statements by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials depicting CECOT as an 'extension' of U.S. detention to conclude the migrants remain in constructive U.S. custody.
- He warns that allowing the government to 'secretly spirit' people to another country to avoid review would 'neuter the Great Writ,' rejecting the administration’s argument that El Salvador has sole discretion over the detainees.
- The article notes DOJ is almost certain to appeal and that the ruling adds clarity after months of delays tied to appeals, national‑security sealing fights, and a related contempt inquiry.
U.S. ordered to facilitate return of Venezuelans sent to El Salvador prison or give hearings
New information:
- CBS reiterates that the March deportations of Venezuelan men to El Salvador’s CECOT prison were found to have violated due‑process rights.
- It specifies that the judge’s order directs the U.S. government either to help facilitate the men’s return to obtain hearings in person or to arrange some form of remote hearing from El Salvador.
- The report notes the administration retains the option to appeal the ruling.
Trump's plans for warship fleet. And, deported Venezuelans must receive due process
New information:
- NPR explicitly states that Judge James Boasberg ruled the deportations of more than 100 Venezuelans to El Salvador were illegal and that the U.S. government violated due process.
- The ruling holds that the men are entitled to due‑process hearings and orders the administration either to return them to the United States or provide constitutionally adequate hearings abroad.
- NPR notes the men have since been returned to Venezuela after about four months in El Salvador’s CECOT prison and have reported poor nutrition, unsanitary conditions, and sexual abuse.
- The article underscores that the government is likely to appeal, while lawyers for the Venezuelans argue the decision sets a clear limit on sending people to brutal foreign prisons without due process.
- It connects the ruling’s timing to CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’s decision to pull a 60 Minutes segment featuring interviews with former detainees, underscoring media and political sensitivity.
Judge orders plan to return ex-CECOT detainees to U.S. or give them hearings
New information:
- Boasberg’s written opinion explicitly holds that the 137 Venezuelan men deported under the Alien Enemies Act and held at El Salvador’s CECOT megaprison were in U.S. legal custody during their time there.
- The judge ordered the Trump administration to submit by Jan. 5 a plan to either allow the men to return to the U.S. or otherwise provide them hearings that satisfy due-process requirements.
- Boasberg clarified that the government may, in theory, offer hearings without returning the men to the United States if those proceedings meet constitutional standards.
- The article notes all the Venezuelan men held at CECOT were released this summer and returned to Venezuela in a U.S.-brokered prisoner swap, and that the 137 covered by the ruling are a subset of more than 200 deportees sent to CECOT in March.
- Boasberg rejected the administration’s argument that the men were no longer in U.S. custody after transfer, finding the U.S. effectively controlled their detention by directing El Salvador to hold them and paying for their confinement.
- Human Rights Watch and Cristosal recently reported that the deportees’ treatment at CECOT amounted to arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, including constant beatings and some sexual abuse, adding context on conditions the court deemed relevant to custody and due process.