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By Mandy Taheri
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President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, was confronted by ABC News' Jonathan Karl about the Trump administration's claims that recent deportation flights to El Salvador were filled with only gang members, despite emerging incidents of non-gang affiliated individuals having been involved.
Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment via email on Sunday.
Why It Matters
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that around 250 people, some allegedly members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua (TdA) gangs, were sent to El Salvador.
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The move followed Trump's invocation of the Aliens Enemies Act of 1798 last Saturday. The news of the deportation flights came after U.S. District Judge James "Jeb" Boasberg ordered to temporarily halt the removals and turn back any planes carrying deportees. The Trump administration is currently embroiled in a legal battle over the issue, with Trump remaining adamant about his authority to carry out the deportations and calling for the impeachment of Boasberg.
The U.S. and El Salvador reached an agreement last month in which the U.S. will pay $6 million to hold about 300 gang members at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
Trump has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, a key campaign promise that received widespread backing from his Republican base and others. While most Democrats oppose Trump's approach, many agree on the need for immigration reform.
What To Know
On ABC News' This Week on Sunday, Karl questioned Homan about the deportation flights, asking for specifics on how more than 250 people ended up on the plane and what their backgrounds were.
Homan responded: "Some of them have been in custody for a little bit, and some on that plane were Title 8 removals, which means they were ordered to be removed by an immigration judge, and some other ones were removed under the Alien Enemies Act."
Karl then inquired about the process of determining someone as a gang member, to which Homan noted they rely on "various methods."
"Do they get a chance to prove that [they aren't a member of either gang] before you take them out of the country and put them into a notorious prison in a country that they're not even from? Do they have any due process at all?" Karl asked.
"Due process? Where was Laken Riley's due process?" Homan asked. "Where were all these young women that were killed and raped by members of TdA? Where was their due process?"
Riley was killed last year by Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national who had been previously detained for minor offenses and then released. Her death inspired the Laken Riley Act, legislation aimed at increasing resources for border security, which was signed into law at the end of January.
The border czar continued: "But the bottom line is, that plane was full of people designated as terrorists, number one."
Trump designated TdA and other gangs as terrorist organizations in an executive order signed in January.
"Number two, every Venezuelan migrant on that flight was a TdA member based on numerous criminal investigations, on intelligence reports, and a lot of work by ICE officers. Matter of fact, two days after that flight took off, I even had a discussion with the acting director of ICE and he reiterated that every person, every Venezuelan on that plane was a known member of the TdA."
Karl then brought up a specific example of Jerce Reyes Barrios being sent to El Salvador. Barrios' attorney says he was mistakenly identified as a gang member because of his tattoos. He is a soccer coach who fled Venezuela after having been detained and tortured following his participation in demonstrations against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Homan said Barrios and his lawyer "can make those claims," but it will be "litigated in the courts with this judge. I'm not going to get into every specific case because there's 260 cases. We got to count on the men and women who do this every day for a living, who designated these people as members of TdA through, like I said, various law enforcement methods. This will be litigated."
The administration has made repeated arrests and deportations since Trump took office in January. In March, several visa and green card holders have been detained, such as Mahmoud Khalil, Rasha Alawieh, and Lewelyn Dixon, among others**.**
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What People Are Saying
An ICE spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement last week: "ICE conducts investigations that target gang leadership, members, and associates in the United States and abroad. ICE uses its broad legal authorities to prevent transnational gangs from growing. We partner with domestic and international law enforcement agencies to identify and trace gangs' activities. Together, we determine the best legal authorities to use to arrest criminals, seize gangs' illicit proceeds and help victims.
All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order or other legal means, removal from the United States regardless of nationality."
Lee Gelernt, lead counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in a statement previously shared with Newsweek: "The Trump administration's intent to use a wartime authority for immigration enforcement is as unprecedented as it is lawless. It may be the administration's most extreme measure yet, and that is saying a lot."
What Happens Next?
The Trump administration continues to fight for the president's executive wartime authority in court with Boasberg presiding over the case, who said in a March 20 filing that the materials the government have provided are "woefully insufficient."
Boasberg has ordered the government to submit a declaration stating whether it is invoking the state secrets privilege, and to file a brief by March 25 "showing cause why they did not violate the Court's Temporary Restraining Orders by failing to return class members removed from the United States on the two earliest planes that departed on March 15, 2025," according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.
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