After posting a breathtaking video of hundreds of suspected migrant criminals arriving in Central America after being deported from the United States, President Donald Trump thanked the president of El Salvador.
After referencing the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the deportation of citizens and natives of an enemy nation without a hearing, Trump thanked President Nayib Bukele on social media.
“I want to express my gratitude to El Salvador and President Bukele in particular for your understanding of this terrible circumstance that the United States was forced to endure due to inept Democratic leadership. We’ll remember,” Trump wrote.
“The monsters sent into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump added, referring to the migrants who had been arrested.
A senior Trump administration official told Fox News that a staggering 261 illegal aliens were deported to El Salvador yesterday. Of these, 101 were Venezuelans deported under Title 8, 21 were Salvadoran MS-13 gang members, two were MS-13 ringleaders and “special cases” for El Salvador, and 137 were deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
The rap sheets of those removed included offenses such as robbery, prostitution, aggravated assault, child sexual abuse, kidnapping, and aggravated assault of a police officer.
Furthermore, a Trump administration official told Fox News that the migrants were already outside of U.S. airspace when a federal judge ordered the planes to return.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered an immediate stop to Trump’s attempts to deport the alleged gang members, giving him more time to decide whether his use of the Alien Enemies Act was illegal.
“We complied with the court’s order. According to the official, who was first quoted by Axios, “the order came too late, and illegals were already in international airspace.”
“Had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist [Tren de Aragua] aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News, echoing the official’s sentiment.
“There is no conflict between the written order and the Administration’s actions,” Leavitt stated. “An aircraft carrier carrying foreign terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil cannot be controlled by a single judge in a single city.”
The migrants arrived in El Salvador and were taken to a “terrorism confinement center,” where they will remain for a minimum of a year, according to Bukele’s X post.
According to the graphic video, the suspected gang members were surrounded by heavily armed Salvadoran police, who put their heads down and escorted each one into a facility.
The video also showed the suspects walking with their hands behind their necks and shaving their hair as they were led into their prison cells.
“These steps, along with the output already produced by over 40,000 prisoners working in various workshops as part of the Zero Idleness program, will eventually help make our prison system self-sustaining,” Bukele wrote. “It currently costs $200 million annually.”
The capture of the MS-13 members, he added, “will help us finalize intelligence gathering and go after the last remnants of MS-13, including its former and new members, money, weapons, drugs, hideouts, collaborators, and sponsors.”
He continued, “As always, we continue to make progress in the fight against organized crime.” This time, however, we are also assisting our allies, ensuring that our prison system is self-sufficient, and acquiring critical intelligence to further improve the safety of our nation. One action, all at once. Bukele wrote, “May God bless the United States and may God bless El Salvador.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed Bukele’s post and expressed gratitude to the Salvadorean leader for his “assistance and friendship.”
In an X post, Rubio stated, “President @nayibbukele is not only the strongest security leader in our region, but he’s also a great friend of the U.S.” “Thank you!”
