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WASHINGTON () President Donald Trump is hosting Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele at the White House on Monday. The country has found itself in the global spotlight after accepting U.S. migrant deportation flights at the center of a legal and political storm.
Since March, El Salvador has accepted more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants accused by U.S. officials of gang activity and violent crimes. Many of them have been placed in El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison near San Salvador.
Among those deported is a Maryland man who was mistakenly sent to El Salvador and has not been returned to the United States despite court orders to do so.
Inside deportation efforts include a $6 million deal to bring those alleged gang members to El Salvador’s prison. The number of deportations continues to climb; Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Sunday that 10 additional alleged gang members have been sent to El Salvador.
Trump: Nayib Bukele ‘has been amazing’ to US
Bukele has become a key ally in Trump’s broader deportation strategy.
Trump emphasized the alliance during remarks aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
“I think he’s done a fantastic job, and he’s taken care of problems that we have that we really wouldn’t be able to take care of from a cost standpoint,” he said. “He’s been amazing.”
DOJ pushes back on Kilmar Abrego Garcia order
The Department of Justice is pushing back on a Supreme Court ruling ordering the Trump administration to release Abrego Garcia, arguing the courts have no authority to force his return.
As part of a judge’s order for reports on Abrego Garcia’s status, the State Department wrote in a filing, “He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”
However, in a new court filing, the DOJ stated the courts cannot tell the Trump administration how to conduct foreign policy, arguing that because Abrego Garcia is in Salvadoran custody, the courts do not have the authority to compel the U.S. to facilitate his release.
The Trump administration has admitted a clerical error caused Abrego Garcia to be sent to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers suggested the U.S. send planes and personnel to El Salvador to bring him home.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
