STORY: U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: “Many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members…”
As U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on immigration, its officials continue to push the message that detainees are violent gang leaders or even terrorists, but often without attempting to back those inflammatory claims in court.
Legal experts say such public allegations can not only jeopardize criminal cases but also undermine a core plank of the U.S. legal system – that people have an opportunity to contest claims brought by the government.
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI: “This is a new DOJ…”
After an FBI SWAT team raided the home of Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, an El Salvadoran man living illegally in Virginia last month, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi alleged the man was one of the top three U.S. leaders of the violent MS-13 street gang and called him a terrorist.
Less than two weeks later, the Justice Department moved to drop the only charge it had brought against him – illegal possession of a firearm by an alien.
Bondi said he would face deportation instead.
In another high-profile case, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pulled over Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran man living in Maryland legally…
handcuffing him while his 5-year-old son, who is autistic and non-verbal sat in the backseat, according to the complaint.
The Trump administration erroneously deported him, claiming he was involved in human trafficking and was a member of MS-13.
But the allegation never appeared in court records related to his deportation.
A U.S. district judge has ordered Abrego Garcia be returned to the U.S.. The Supreme Court has largely upheld that ruling.
Former chief spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice Anthony Coley says it’s political theater.
“Right now, we have a justice department that is more concerned about winning in the court of public opinion than they are about winning in the court of law.”
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Abrego Garcia was deported alongside 238 Venezuelan men alleged to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang who are now held in a high-security Salvadoran prison.
A U.S. immigration official conceded in court filings that many of the deportees had no criminal records.
In a response to Reuters, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson claimed that the Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador without U.S. criminal records, quote, “are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more” but did not present evidence.
“I definitely think that he’s [Donald Trump] been using some of these cases for political wins.”
Rebecca Roiphe, a law professor at New York Law School says it’s important to parse the rhetoric from what’s actually going on in courtrooms.
“You know, a lot of the exaggeration is just political rhetoric and it’s really important to separate that out from what’s actually going on in the courtroom because there may be differences there.
Legal experts said out-of-court statements could prompt defense attorneys to seek dismissal of charges or transfer to another court on the grounds that a potential jury has been tainted.
Justice Department policy normally limits public statements about pending cases to information in publicly available documents such as indictments or complaints and bars commentary about a defendant’s character.
