Federal Judge Orders Return of Venezuelan Migrants Deported to El Salvador’s CECOT Prison
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has issued a significant ruling ordering the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Venezuelan migrants who were deported to El Salvador last year. The court order specifically targets a controversial removal operation that resulted in asylum seekers being held at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison facility in El Salvador.
The ruling, handed down late yesterday, asserts that the administration’s transfer of these individuals violated fundamental due process rights and contradicted specific statutory protections regarding the treatment of asylum seekers. The judge granted a preliminary injunction requested by civil liberties groups representing the migrants, requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to arrange for the group’s transport back to the United States to have their immigration claims properly adjudicated.
The deportation program, initiated in 2025, involved sending third-country nationals—specifically Venezuelans—to El Salvador under a bilateral cooperation agreement. However, legal challenges arose immediately after reports confirmed that several of these deportees were detained within CECOT. The facility, the largest in the Americas, was constructed by the Salvadoran government to house high-risk gang members and is known for its austere conditions and total isolation protocols.
In the written opinion, the court noted that placing migrants seeking protection into a punitive carceral environment designed for violent offenders constituted a “gross miscarriage of justice” and exposed them to undue peril. The judge rejected the administration’s argument that the transfers were a necessary component of border security management and foreign diplomatic arrangements.
The Department of Justice is expected to file an emergency appeal to stay the order. Administration officials have previously defended the policy as a deterrent against illegal migration and a necessary measure to manage overcrowding at U.S. processing centers.
Compliance with the order presents significant logistical and diplomatic hurdles. The U.S. government must now negotiate the release of these individuals with Salvadoran authorities and coordinate secure travel back to U.S. soil. The ruling mandates that the administration provide a timeline for this process within 72 hours. Until the appeals process is exhausted, the future of the policy regarding third-country transfers to El Salvador remains uncertain.
