Trump, Bukele, and An Ugly History In the Making

Disappearing migrants to some of the world’s most inhumane prisons and a destroyer at the border lays the foundation for an ugly history in the making

Photo by Hédi Benyounes on Unsplash

Before the Trump administration ignored a judge's order, there were already myriad issues with sending migrants to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Ignoring the court’s decision is beyond alarming. It throws the nation into a crisis as top officials like Trump’s so-called Border Czar, Tom Homan, keep challenging the courts by saying things like, “We're not stopping. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the left thinks.”

What they are intentionally ignoring is that the U.S. Constitution offers protections for the migrants who were sent to El Salvador. Accusing them of being in gangs for tattoos that refer to a popular Reggaeton song by Puerto Rican Trump supporter, Anuel AA, for example, speaks to the dubious claims of gang affiliation based on tattoos. They’re profiling migrants, in this case, Venezuelans, and labeling them as terrorists for nothing more than culturally relevant tattoos.

In one case, a Venezuelan migrant was prepared to prove he had no gang affiliation, yet, he was treated as a terrorist anyway as the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, found joy in Trump undermining the U.S. Constitution, the oversight provided by the judiciary, and nearly all societal norms. Because for Bukele, it mirrors much of what he has done in El Salvador.

Bukele remains popular for getting crime under control but has raised many red flags due to his ignoring the country’s constitution in what many say is an effort to consolidate power for himself and his New Ideas Party. Last year Bukele was elected to a second term despite the El Salvador Constitution prohibiting re-election. And in the process of incarcerating more than 1% of El Salvador’s population in hard labor prisons, he’s also targeted his critics.

El Salvador has been in a “state of emergency” (martial law) for more than two years. During that time, many civil liberties have been ignored as reported by Amnesty International and other human rights groups. But Bukele’s wild popularity holds because the country is much safer than it once was. So much so that the Biden Administration toned down the rhetoric against him not just because of his broad popularity, but his willingness to work with the U.S. to curb migration.

“The insistence of Nayib Bukele’s government on maintaining the state of emergency, the adoption of disproportionate measures, and the denial, minimization, and concealment of reported serious human rights violations reflect the government’s unwillingness to fulfill its duty to respect and promote human rights in the country. It also demonstrates its inability to design comprehensive long-term measures to address the root causes of violence and criminality without forcing the population to choose between security and freedom,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

As Trump, Bukele, and high-ranking U.S. government officials gloated about illegally sending migrants to inhumane prisons in a foreign country, the Trump administration admitted in court on Monday that many of the people sent to El Salvador did not have criminal records but only because they haven’t been in the U.S. long enough, suggesting that the criminal behavior is inevitable because they are Venezuelans.

“While it is true that many of the TdA [Tren de Aragua] members removed unde the AEA [Alien Enemies Act] do not have criminal records, that is because they have only been in the United States for a short period of time. The lack of a criminal record does not indicate they pose a limited threat. In fact, based upon their association with TdA, the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose. It demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile”

There is little doubt that some gang members were sent to El Salvador, but evidence is beginning to surface that shows many were not. These broad roundups and dubious claims of gang affiliation are leading to many immigrants in the U.S. legally being targeted along with some U.S. citizens for nothing more than looking Latino. One lawsuit alleges that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) created an administrative warrant after arresting a migrant who didn't have one out for him.

Using tattoos to target nonwhite groups and list them as gang members has been a problem across the U.S. for decades. Agencies like Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and ICE embraced the strategy local and state law enforcement use and have taken it further than ever. For agencies under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), it’s a growing practice used to dehumanize and villainize immigrants.

On X, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council highlighted the dubiousness of what was used to declare some migrants as gang members.

“The men sent to do hard labor in a Salvadoran prison with no due process include: A tattoo artist seeking asylum who entered legally; A teen who got a tattoo in Dallas because he thought it looked cool; A 26-year-old whose tattoos his wife says are unrelated to a gang.”

When contacting the Department of State about the lack of evidence to claim that any migrants were gang-affiliated, a spokesperson would only say, “We do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation,” presumably referencing one or all of the myriad cases the administration is facing in court. Despite not commenting, the admission in court by Acting Field Office Director Robert L. Cernahas already shows they have no evidence to back their claims.

During a press conference on Monday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce responded to a question about the issues surrounding invoking the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) by reiterating the White House’s position saying, “...the White House has been very transparent. Karoline was very clear this afternoon about their approach. Clearly, they feel that this is something they want to litigate and they are going to…”

This follows a press release from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday saying in part that “Hundreds of violent criminals were sent out of our country. This crucial step would have never happened under any other U.S. president” as he ignored that his or any other agency doesn’t have evidence to back those claims.

Meanwhile, just days after Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin visited the White House for the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the administration invited Conor McGregor, the Irish Mixed Martial Arts fighter. McGregor was found civilly liable by an Irish court last year for assaulting a woman at a party in Dublin in 2018 and has a history of other allegations against him.

McGregor’s record of making xenophobic comments made his racism-laden rant unsurprising but it was beneficial for the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant campaign.

On Monday, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a press release about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's meeting with McGregor to discuss “how the U.S. and Ireland are both struggling with the effects of illegal immigration.” According to the release, McGregor described the issue for Ireland as "a threat of destruction from within."

"That's what we feel is happening in Ireland at present. There's no support for the people of Ireland," McGregor said. "It's almost like we're witnessing the destruction of Ireland in real-time. It's being harbored by our own government. The illegal immigration racket is the biggest money racket that has ever been in Irish history."

Never one to miss an opportunity to propagandize and display his unhealthy obsession with the U.S.-Mexico border, Hegseth chimed in with his conflation of immigration in Ireland with the United States. He employed the widely debunked “20 million migrants” conspiracy theory and made comparisons of small towns being “transformed” by immigration in both countries.

"We've spent 20 years defending other people's borders all around the world," Hegseth said. "And we let the world come in through our southern border – 20 million people, we have no idea who they are. There are entire small towns that have been transformed by illegal immigration.”

Hidden in the background of all of this is the news about the U.S. sending a destroyer to sit off the U.S. coast near the border. As reported last week, the military buildup at the border is getting more alarming every day. A press release from the DOD says U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) deployed the USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer to the Gulf of Mexico on what it says is a scheduled deployment.

"USS Gravely departed from Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, [Virginia], for a scheduled deployment to the Gulf of America," said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell. "It's not only vital for the United States to have control of our border via land. It's equally important to control our territorial waters, and this deployment directly supports U.S. Northern Command's mission to protect our sovereignty."

While the press release says the destroyer will “be involved in the interdiction mission for many of the drugs … that are coming in," according to joint staff director for operations Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the growing U.S. military posture at the U.S.-Mexico border should be noted as the rhetoric about immigration gets more intense and the actions by the administration get more extreme.

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