Tatts what I’m talking about: Kristi Noem threatens to send more immigrants to El Salvador prison

US homeland security chief Kristi Noem threatened to send more immigrants to a notorious maximum security prison in El Salvador that has become a black hole for Venezuelans spirited out of the United States with no judicial hearing.

The Trump administration is locked in a court battle over whether it acted improperly in expelling the Venezuelans, who are accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang. A US judge is investigating whether the government defied his order on March 15 to stop their transfer.

“If you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you could face,” the secretary said in a video post, standing in front of a cell packed with shirtless, tattooed prisoners.

It was unclear if the men had anything to do with the Trump administration’s recent removals. “This facility is one of the tools in our toolkit, that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people,” she said.

She was scheduled to meet Wednesday with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele “to discuss how we can increase the number of deportation flights and removals of violent criminals from the U.S.,” according to a post on X by the Department of Homeland Security.

Mr Bukele offered last month to take in dangerous criminals held in US detention facilities. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had previously complained about Venezuela’s refusal to accept deported migrants, said the deal would “save our taxpayer dollars.” The US agreed to pay $6 million a year to keep them at the CECOT prison.

But the prisoners have no clear access to either the Salvadoran or US justice systems. “They are in a legal limbo,” said Enrique Anaya, a Salvadoran constitutional lawyer.

Several of their families have said they are not gang members at all, just migrants who had tattoos. The US Government has acknowledged that many did not have criminal records in the US.

In El Salvador, “they aren’t sentenced, they didn’t commit crimes, they weren’t tourists. What is the migration status of these people?” asked Napoleón Campos, a Salvadoran attorney specializing in international law.

Noem, in a blue ICE baseball hat and gray drawstring pants, toured the prison complex outside the capital with El Salvador’s justice minister, Gustavo Villatoro. They entered one detention area, Cell 8, where some of the Venezuelans are being held. The inmates stood in white T-shirts and cotton shorts in the hot, un-airconditioned cell, looking silently at the visitors.

The Salvadoran minister pointed out one man’s star-shaped tattoo, telling Mr Noem it was a marker of Tren de Aragua. But organised-crime experts caution against determining gang membership on the basis of tattoos, noting that many of the designs are common in Latin America.

When Mr Noem and the minister left the cell, it erupted in noise, including chants that were indecipherable, according to a press pool report.