The first 100 days of the Trump administration have come to an end. There have been countless changes that have impacted the U.S. economy, foreign policy, trade, and inclusion.
Many experts and media sources have dubbed the past few months of immigration policy and action an immigration crisis. This is due to the administration suspending vital funding and refugee resettlement programs, to deporting innocent and fully legal migrants. One ongoing battle that has garnered attention in the media is the deportations to the terrorism containment center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, CECOT. On March 15, 2025, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1789. This act is a wartime authority that allows the president to detain/deport the citizens of any “enemy nation” and has only been invoked three times in U.S. history. This means that without a hearing or trial, immigrants may be detained purely based on their country of birth. Trump’s proclamation states that “all Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of TdA, are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies”. Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a gang, or criminal organization from Venezuela, which the administration is attempting to eradicate from the United States. However, the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act has been used as vindication for the unjust deportation of hundreds of innocent Venezuelans.
In the past few months, this act has been abused and used against immigrants who are guilty of no crimes. For example, Quintero Chacón, a Venezuelan immigrant and father of two, was deported to the Salvadoran prison simply for being undocumented. Mr. Quintero turned himself over to ICE after crossing the border and was held in custody for about eight months while the court decided if he should be deported, but deportation to Venezuela is impossible for a multitude of reasons (Temporary Protected Status, humanitarian crisis, political instability), so Mr. Quintero was sent to CECOT regardless of his lack of a criminal record. This is only one story from the 238 immigrants sent to this prison. Another man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was in America legally, was also sent to El Salvador with what many say is no legal justification. The Trump administration is now claiming this to be an “administrative error,” and while there is currently no plan to retrieve him, the administration was directed by a federal judge to facilitate his return. In an ABC news story, President Trump acknowledged steps he could take, but stated that they believed Mr. Garcia to be part of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang. Yet, Garcia’s attorneys say the informant had no basis for their assertion, as Garcia had never lived close to the New York chapter of MS-13, which the informant claimed he was a part of. To be clear, none of the hundreds sent to CECOT were given trials to prove their gang affiliation. The only form of protection or outside contact the prisoners receive is online hearings, often with hundreds of defendants at once. Through this, all of these incarcerations are being legally justified by the aforementioned wartime act.
To provide a background on CECOT, in 2022, the Salvadoran gang crackdown began under President Nayib Bukele. This was a response to a string of gang violence committed in March of 2022 that resulted in 87 deaths. After this spree of killings, a state of emergency was declared, which halted constitutional rights related to due process and arrest. The Salvadoran government began to arrest thousands of men suspected of being gang members. This has led the country to the highest incarceration rate globally, but many Salvadoran citizens have fortunately reported an increase in their quality of life due to the decrease in gang activity. As of March 2025, CECOT has been put on the Human Rights Watch due to the inhumane conditions of the prison.
These conditions include, but are not limited to:
– Lack of due process before arrest
– Denied communications with relatives or lawyers
– Severe overcrowding ( prisoners sleeping on the floor or standing)
– Torture and Beatings
– Prolonged solitary confinement in complete darkness
– Lack of access to proper food or healthcare
Many across the media have also observed countless similarities and parallels between CECOT and the concentration camps that ran during the holocaust. These similarities being, all of the prisoners’ heads being shaved, they sleep on tiered metal bunks (no bedding), 24/7 lights are on in the cells, with only 30 minutes out of their cells a day.
Concerning the mass deportations, the Trump administration has not yet identified those deported or given proof of their affiliation to TdA. This is not an uncommon occurrence regarding Salvadoran prisons, but many who have family members in CECOT are unaware of their family members’ locations due to the strict no outside contact rule.
“I think that this is a direct violation of human rights, and the right to have a trial is really important. The fact that that has been taken away, contributes to the dehumanization of the immigrants,” Says Sommer Smith, ‘28
This is one of the reasons America’s involvement with CECOT is so problemat-
ic in the public’s view. Some raise the fact that the Fifth Amendment grants all people in
America the right to due process of law, including illegal migrants. The Alien Enemies Act has been a topic of debate for this reason. The raised dilemma: “Is the threat of war enough to ‘override’ the constitution, more specifically the Fifth Amendment?” Some people and organizations, like the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) claim that the wartime act is inhumane and unconstitutional.
“This country is big on liberation and having your rights, and to not have them is the opposite of what America is built on.” Comments Dami Johnson, ‘27.
Hundreds of immigrants are still being deported daily in America, and there are still a number of innocent men in CECOT, waiting for their release. The most powerful thing any American citizen can do, regardless of political position and opinion, is to stay educated regarding these topics. Accessible and trustworthy news sources include NBS, PBS, NPR, and many others.
