Here’s a shiny new Wikipedia article, with lots of links to parse through.

In March 2025, the United States deported 137 Venezuelans to El Salvador, to be immediately and indefinitely imprisoned without trial[1] and without prison sentences nor release dates. They were detained at the notorious[2][3] maximum security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a prison with human rights concerns, as part of an agreement to jail U.S. deportees there in exchange for money. They were not given due process such as fair trials, and thus have no orders or sentencing for either the deportations themselves or the imprisonment immediately on arrival. Many deportees have no criminal charges, records, nor convictions in either country. The second Trump administration alleges that the deportees are gang members, but often without any solid evidence, and consequently, innocent individuals have been deported and imprisoned without any fixed term, including instances in which the deportation itself was admitted to be a mistake. The administration is doubling down on its actions and refuses to acknowledge or rectify any issues. Although the deportations themselves were well-publicized afterward, the U.S. did not publish the Venezuelans’ names, nor did it acknowledge the fate and whereabouts of individuals to the public, their families, or their legal representation. Their names were later leaked by CBS News.

What the Trump administration is doing is not legal.