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.
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.
“The documents filed with the court today show that the administration has not been honest with the court or the American people,” Democracy Forward CEO Skye Perryman told The Washington Post.