[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 13, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2886-S2887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Immigration
Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, President Trump has been in office for 113
days. On nearly every one of those days, he has announced another very
dangerous attack on the Constitution and on our system of justice.
The recent shocking news that the administration plans to deport
migrants to Libya--a country that is in chaos, where the prisons are a
version of hell--is just a recent example.
I hate to say this, but it is true. It is not just what the Trump
administration does; it is the cavalier cruelty by which the
administration does it. That cruelty is described in heart-wrenching
detail by the Washington Post in a recent article entitled ``Trump's
48-hour scramble to fly migrants to a Salvadoran prison.''
The article describes the Trump administration officials who, in
their rush to deport a million migrants, have knowingly and flagrantly
trampled on the rights of people who are in this country legally--in
this country legally.
The Post reviewed court records and conducted interviews of more than
50 men who are believed to be held at the Terrorism Confinement Center,
or CECOT, in El Salvador. The Post found:
[D]espite the administration's claims, many of the
immigrants sent to El Salvador had entered the United States
legally and were actively complying with U.S. immigration
rules.
The review by the Post also found:
At least two of the men imprisoned in El Salvador had been
approved--
Approved--
by the State Department to resettle as refugees in the United
States after [very] extensive vetting by federal law
enforcement authorities. . . . At least four had protections
against removal through temporary protected status . . .
granted to those fleeing Venezuela's humanitarian crisis. . .
. Others had been active members of Venezuela's opposition
and had open asylum claims.
In other words, these were folks who were friends of freedom.
Suddenly, without producing any credible evidence, they are now called
``terrorists''--no new evidence.
Prisoners at CECOT--they are abandoned, they are lost, and they are
forgotten. They have no access to family or lawyers, no semblance of
due process to prove their innocence, and no idea
[[Page S2887]]
when they will be released, if they will ever be released.
According to the Post article, Secretary of State Rubio told Bukele
that the migrant prisoners would remain there for a year ``or until a
determination concerning their long-term disposition is made.'' No end
in sight. It is a very chilling statement.
The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the
White House Press Secretary repeatedly referred to these migrants as
``the worst of the worst'' terrorists and criminals. These are folks
who were here legally, following the rules.
Multiple investigations have determined that many of the migrants
sent to CECOT in El Salvador literally have never been charged, let
alone convicted of anything. The administration's own lawyers have
acknowledged this.
According to the Washington Post report, U.S. officials have refused
to provide the names of those who were sent to CECOT. So our government
has picked up people, spirited them away to El Salvador, and won't even
disclose the identity of the people who were arrested and deported.
The Washington Post asked three El Salvadoran officials for the
identities of deportees who were sent there but received absolutely no
response. That is why lawyers and journalists have described CECOT as a
Kafkaesque dungeon. Once someone is led in chains through those iron
gates, he is as good as disappeared forever.
One person the Trump administration disappeared to El Salvador was
Andry Hernandez. He is a 31-year-old makeup artist. He left Venezuela
to escape persecution, partly because of his sexual orientation, for
which he was persecuted, and his political views, for which he was
persecuted.
Andry opposed the Maduro regime. He did not cross the border
illegally. He went to Mexico. He obtained an appointment--according to
the rules--for an asylum interview. He had an interview, and he was
found to have a credible fear of persecution. So he did everything
right. Now we see photographs of Andry in CECOT, and they are gut-
wrenching. He cries for his mother as guards slap him and forcibly
shave his head. He yells out:
I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a stylist.
The photos also show our government's alleged evidence for sending
Andry to CECOT: tattoos of crowns, which are a symbol of a religious
festival for Three Kings Day and have nothing to do with any gang-
related activity.
The Trump administration officials have openly praised El Salvador's
President Bukele for receiving these migrants. He is a man who proudly
calls himself a dictator--and he is. His rubberstamp legislature and
the judiciary caved in to him and allowed him to circumvent their own
constitution and run for a second term. Then he imposed a state of
emergency, empowering him to arrest and imprison anyone without
charge--indefinitely.
The Trump administration officials have no qualms about paying
millions of dollars to President Bukele to jail these migrants, who
include folks who were here in this country legally.
The Washington Post article describes the Trump administration
scrambling to arrest hundreds of people like Andry, often at their
places of employment. And President Trump is then having them secretly
and quickly often deported to El Salvador before the courts can even
provide a hearing.
Amid these rampant violations of fundamental due process, the
administration continues to just dis the Federal courts. And according
to a Justice Department spokesperson, ``Activist judges do not have
jurisdiction to seize control of the President's authority to conduct
foreign policy, remove dangerous illegal aliens from our country, and
keep Americans safe.''
This has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the rule of law
and the role of the judiciary in our frame of government.
Multiple judges, by the way, appointed by Republicans and Democrats,
including President Trump, have ruled against the administration's
efforts to forcibly deport people without any hearing whatsoever. And,
by the way, how does forcibly disappearing somebody like Andry
Hernandez Romero make us more safe?
Just last week, a Federal judge appointed by President Trump blocked
the administration from summarily removing migrants in South Texas
under a bogus assertion of the application of the Alien Enemies Act.
This should not be happening in this country, and it shouldn't be
happening in El Salvador. It should not happen in Libya. It should not
happen anywhere.
Laws matter. Due process matters. Justice matters. How we treat other
human beings says more about us than it says about them.
It was Nelson Mandela who said:
No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its
jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its
highest citizens, but the lowest ones.
The Trump administration has made a clear decision to disrespect our
laws, to disregard the rights of citizens and individuals who are
entitled to due process, and to do it in a way that is cruel and
disrespectful of the United States and its commitment to freedom and
the rule of law.
Our Supreme Court has ruled that all people, including migrants, are
entitled to due process, to an opportunity to rebut allegations against
them before being deported. The Trump administration attack is not just
on the rights of these individuals, but it really goes to the core of
principles and practices established in law that are the foundation of
our democracy. And it threatens, therefore, the rights and privileges
of all American citizens.
I stand here on behalf of Vermonters who are appalled by this action.
I stand here as a Member of the U.S. Senate who believes it is my
responsibility, in the face of these Trump actions, to stand up for the
rights of people to have a hearing, to have a right to be brought
before a magistrate or a judge, and not be deported without any due
process whatsoever. This is important to our commitment as Members of
the U.S. Senate to preserve the traditions of the Constitution, the
rule of law, and the rights of individuals and the freedom that has
been the blessing of our liberty since the founding of our country.
(The remarks of Mr. Welch pertaining to the introduction of S. Res.
224 are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
Mr. WELCH. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
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