Appeals Court Split Over Whether U.S. Must Return Venezuelan Migrants From El Salvador Prison

During oral arguments, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit showed a split over a February district-court order that forced the Trump administration to fund the return of dozens of Venezuelan migrants who had been flown to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center without notice. Judges A. Raymond Randolph and Neomi Rao expressed skepticism that the migrants could invoke habeas corpus, arguing the United States lacked the requisite control over them after their arrival in El Salvador.

In contrast, Judge Harry Edwards highlighted evidence that the administration maintained co-control and referenced Supreme Court precedent affirming the plaintiffs' due-process rights. The Justice Department’s attorney, Tiberius Davis, warned that the district court’s ruling could open the floodgates to claims of U.S. constructive custody worldwide. ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt argued the government had admitted to violating constitutional rights by denying due process and should not be allowed to walk away from responsibility. The panel did not set a date for its ruling, leaving the migrants’ fate uncertain.