El Salvador says Trump holds custody of CECOT migrants

The government of El Salvador has informed the United Nations that over 100 Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration to its maximum-security prison, CECOT, are still under the sole custody of the U.S. government. This revelation contradicts previous assertions by senior Trump officials who claimed they had no authority to bring these individuals back.

According to a U.N. report included in a court filing by the ACLU and other migrant groups representing the detainees at CECOT, El Salvador stated in April that the U.S. has exclusive jurisdiction and legal responsibility for the migrants sent to the prison in March. This statement followed a $6 million agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador to host around 300 migrant prisoners.

In March, the Trump administration used a 1798 wartime immigration law to expedite the deportation of Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang. This law had only been invoked three times before, including during World War II.

The lawyers representing the migrants argue that this new information should allow them to seek additional discovery in the case. The revelation has already impacted at least one case involving a CECOT migrant who was ordered back to the U.S. by a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, has directed the administration to explain its position in light of the new information. She ruled in April that the government violated a 2024 settlement by deporting a migrant before his case was fully heard in court. However, as of now, he has not been returned to the country.

Another major hearing is scheduled for this week, where U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis will consider transferring Salvadorian migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to U.S. custody in Maryland. Abrego is currently in the custody of U.S. Marshals in Tennessee, and there are concerns that the Trump administration may seek to deport him to a third country upon release.

Xinis has criticized the administration’s lack of transparency and slow response in providing information, likening it to “trying to nail Jell-O to a wall.” This development could have significant implications for ongoing immigration cases across the country.

Breanne Deppisch, a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital, covers the Trump administration, focusing on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.