Judge Orders Due Process for Venezuelans Sent to Salvadoran Prison

Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia mandated that the administration submit plans by January 5 for 137 men to challenge their removal. In March, the government invoked the Alien Enemies Act to bypass standard legal procedures, labeling the detainees as members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Evidence suggests, however, that many were detained based solely on the presence of tattoos, with only a small fraction facing actual criminal charges.

The detainees were held at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a facility notorious for reports of daily beatings, sexual violence, and systemic deprivation. While the administration argued it lacked jurisdiction over the men once they were in El Salvador, court filings from the Salvadoran government at the United Nations contradicted this, asserting that legal responsibility for the detainees remained exclusively with the United States. Boasberg concluded that the U.S. maintained constructive custody throughout the ordeal, violating the plaintiffs' due-process rights by denying them any opportunity to challenge their status.

Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the ACLU, noted that the ruling prohibits the government from offloading individuals into brutal foreign conditions without oversight. Although the administration is expected to appeal, the legal path forward remains complex for the former detainees. Many, including those released in a July prisoner exchange, remain traumatized by their time in CECOT and are hesitant to engage further with the U.S. legal system.