Trump's Aggressive Immigration Policies Spark Controversy

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has stated that he will not return Kilmar Ábrego García, a man deported from the US in error, despite a US Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration must facilitate his return. Ábrego García was granted protection from deportation by a US court in 2019 but was still deported to El Salvador's Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (Cecot), a maximum-security prison. The US government has conceded that Ábrego García's deportation was an "administrative error" and claims he is a member of the MS-13 gang, which his lawyer denies. Bukele's decision comes after he met with US President Donald Trump, with whom he has a strong relationship, and agreed to a new partnership to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador. The US is paying El Salvador $20,000 per deportee per year, which Bukele claims will help make the prison system financially self-sufficient. Ábrego García's wife has expressed concern over her husband's situation, saying that the "Trump and Bukele administrations continue to play political games with his life".

Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student activist and organiser of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, was arrested by US immigration officials during a citizenship interview in Vermont. His lawyer claims the detention is "in direct retaliation" for his activism and role in campus demonstrations against the Israel-Gaza war. Mahdawi, a green card holder since 2015, was due to graduate from Columbia University next month. A court has granted a temporary restraining order to prevent US immigration authorities from moving him out of Vermont or expelling him from the US. The arrest is part of a broader immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, with other student activists also being detained.

The US State Department has confirmed that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month, is "alive and secure" but remains confined in a notorious El Salvador prison. The Trump administration had accused Abrego Garcia of having ties to the MS-13 gang, but his lawyers say he has no affiliation with the gang and has never been charged or convicted of any crime. The State Department's filing did not address a judge's demands to detail steps being taken to return Abrego Garcia to the US, despite a Supreme Court order to facilitate his release. Abrego Garcia is being held at the CECOT prison, where other migrants sent by the US are also being held as part of a deal with the Salvadoran government.

President Donald Trump is escalating his battle against institutions that challenge his authority, including the courts, law profession, elite education, and media, just three months into his new term. Trump's administration is projecting presidential power in a broader and more overt way than any modern White House, causing alarm about its impact on the rule of law, freedom of expression, and the Constitution. Trump recently lionized El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, known for his authoritarian style, and appeared to endorse his methods, including imprisoning tens of thousands without due process. The Trump administration is also defying court orders, including a Supreme Court decision, in its handling of immigration cases, and is exerting influence over law firms, universities, and the media. Trump's actions are raising concerns about a potential constitutional crisis and the erosion of democratic freedoms.

The US State Department has begun reviewing inquiries from individuals, including Afrikaners, who have expressed interest in resettling in the US as refugees due to alleged racial discrimination in South Africa. The move follows President Donald Trump's comments that Afrikaners, descendants of white settlers, could settle in the US as refugees. The Afrikaner Orania Movement, a settlement of 3,000 people, is seeking US support to become autonomous in South Africa rather than resettling in the US. Orania's leaders have been lobbying the US government, meeting with officials in Washington to discuss their campaign for autonomy. The State Department confirmed that the US Embassy in Pretoria is conducting informational interviews with individuals interested in refugee resettlement.

Donald Trump has suggested that the US could deport "homegrown criminals" to jails in El Salvador, stating that US Attorney General is "studying the laws right now". The Trump administration has been deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador since March, and Trump indicated he would like to expand this to include US-born violent offenders. Trump made the comments while meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele at the White House.

A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending a Biden-era program that allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti to enter the US and work legally, citing the risk of deportation hearings for those whose legal status expires soon.

President Trump met with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office, using the room as a set piece to stage a performance on immigration and deportation policies, particularly in response to a recent Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of a wrongly deported Maryland man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whom Bukele refused to return, calling it akin to sending a "terrorist" into the US, despite Abrego Garcia not being charged as a gang member or terrorist. The meeting featured top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who made statements downplaying the administration's role in Abrego Garcia's return, with Bukele and Trump exchanging praise and Trump seemingly charmed by Bukele's youthful appearance, inviting him to a future photo op with Ohio State football players.

A federal judge rebuked the Trump administration for failing to comply with a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador. Judge Paula Xinis scolded the administration for "dragging its feet" and said she would force officials to reveal what they had done behind the scenes to secure Abrego Garcia's release. The judge ordered the administration to provide documents and sit for depositions, and warned that there would be "no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding." Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old father of three, was mistakenly deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison, CECOT, despite a court order protecting him from removal due to potential persecution in his home country.

The Trump administration is seeking to deport Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and legal permanent resident, citing his activities as potentially undermining the Middle East peace process. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's memo justified the deportation, claiming Mahdawi's pro-Palestinian protests could reinforce antisemitic sentiment and threaten US foreign policy goals. Mahdawi's lawyer disputes the claims, saying they are "baseless" and that Mahdawi worked to bring Palestinian and Israeli students together. Mahdawi was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents while attempting to take a naturalization test and has challenged his detention in Vermont federal court.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi avoided answering whether Donald Trump's proposal to deport US citizens to El Salvador and jail them there was legal, despite experts saying it's clearly illegal and unconstitutional. Trump suggested "homegrown criminals" could be sent to El Salvador, where they would be imprisoned, during a meeting with El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele. Experts, including professors Erin Corcoran and Ilya Somin, stated that there's no provision under US law to deport citizens, making the idea illegal.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 19-year-old Venezuelan Merwil Gutiérrez to El Salvador despite knowing he was not the target of their operation. Gutiérrez was detained alongside 237 other Venezuelans and deported to the notorious Cecot prison, despite his family claiming he has no gang ties or criminal history. His father, Wilmer Gutiérrez, said ICE agents mentioned that his son was not the person they were looking for, but took him anyway. The family has been left without information or answers, and Gutiérrez was deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to a country he had never been to.

Trump administration officials, including Stephen Miller and Attorney General Pam Bondi, misrepresented a US Supreme Court order requiring the return of Kilmar Abrego García, a man wrongly deported to El Salvador, claiming the US was powerless to bring him back. The Supreme Court had unanimously ordered the administration to "facilitate" Abrego García's release, but officials gave "tortured readings" of the order, suggesting it only required providing transportation if El Salvador chose to return him. Abrego García was deported despite a US immigration judge's order shielding him from being sent to El Salvador due to likely persecution by a local gang. The administration had previously acknowledged the deportation was an "administrative error" and the Supreme Court called his removal "illegal".