Additional Coverage:
- Venezuelans deported last week included 8 women who were returned to US, filings say (abcnews.go.com)
Eight Venezuelan Women Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Returned to US
Eight Venezuelan women caught up in a mass deportation of alleged gang members to El Salvador last week were swiftly returned to the United States after officials realized the error. According to court filings, the women were part of two planeloads of detainees sent to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.
One of the women, identified as S.Z.F.R., described in a sworn declaration the chaotic events leading up to her brief deportation. She stated she and the other women were transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas, before being flown to El Salvador, believing they were being sent back to Venezuela. She noted that several other individuals on the plane were in the midst of immigration proceedings and awaiting court hearings.
S.Z.F.R. alleges that all detainees, including the women, were shackled throughout the journey, even during a refueling stop in another country. She also described witnessing officials pressuring the male detainees to sign documents related to their alleged membership in the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), the group targeted in these deportations.
Upon arrival in El Salvador, the women remained on the plane. S.Z.F.R. claims they were informed El Salvador’s president would not accept female detainees and that they would be returned to US custody. She was subsequently flown back to the US in the middle of the night.
A separate declaration from an unnamed Nicaraguan migrant corroborated parts of S.Z.F.R.’s account. He stated he overheard Salvadoran officials telling ICE officers they wouldn’t accept detainees from other Central American countries or any female detainees. He described a tense scene where some individuals had to be forcibly removed from the plane upon landing in El Salvador.
The ACLU plans to submit to the district court the document signed by the detainees before their deportation. The ACLU’s attorney, Lee Gelernt, revealed during a Monday hearing that the document explicitly states the signees are not entitled to review.
These deportations follow a temporary restraining order issued last Saturday by US District Judge James Boasberg to halt the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, an order challenged by the Justice Department. An ICE official previously admitted that many of those deported under the act lacked criminal records in the US.
The administration has yet to clarify the evidence linking the deportees to gang activity. ICE has not responded to requests for comment.