US deports more alleged gang members to El Salvador

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration deported more alleged Venezuelan and MS-13 gang members over the weekend, sending 17 more people it says were foreign criminals, the US State Department said on Monday.

The group of alleged violent criminals tied to Tren de Aragua and MS-13 was transported by the US military on Sunday night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the group included murders and rapists.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week visited a prison in El Salvador where many of those being deported have been sent and said the administration would continue to send criminals there.

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Rubio, US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, on Monday did not say what authority the administration used to deport the latest batch of foreigners.

Trump’s administration asked the US Supreme Court last week to allow his use of a 1798 law to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.

Trump campaigned on a hardline approach to immigration and since taking office in January has swiftly moved to boost deportations, including this month invoking the Alien Enemies, an 18th-century law historically has been used only in wartime.

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The American Civil Liberties Union challenged its use to rapidly deport the alleged gang members, saying the law denies the migrants the due process promised by the US Constitution to contest the basis for their removal. Family members of some of those deported have denied that they have any gang ties.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had upheld a temporary block on using the 1798 law amid ongoing legal proceedings.