Charles JacksonOn April 14, 2026, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. halted a criminal contempt inquiry into former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials — the latest development in a legal battle over the Trump administration's deportation of hundreds of people to El Salvador's CECOT maximum-security prison. For any US resident or citizen following this story, the questions are urgent: what rights do you actually have if the government tries to remove you? And what can you do if a family member disappears into a foreign prison?
What Is Happening in El Salvador
In March 2025, the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport approximately 250 Venezuelans and Salvadorans to CECOT — the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador — without prior judicial hearings. The transfers were rapid, with no advance notice to detainees or their families.
CECOT is described by Human Rights Watch as a facility that, "by design, deprives its detainees of adequate food, water, and shelter, fosters routine violence." Federal District Judge Xinis, overseeing related litigation, characterized it as "one of the most notoriously inhumane and dangerous prisons in the world."
As of April 2026, multiple individuals remain detained there without trial. One case stands out for its legal severity: Walter Josué Huete Alvarado, a US citizen arrested in El Salvador in May 2023, has now been held without trial for nearly three years. According to reporting by The Intercept in February 2026, Salvadoran police destroyed his US passport at the time of arrest, claiming it was "worthless." The Biden State Department was aware of his case and took no action. The Trump administration has not secured his release.
On April 8, 2026, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt signaled the administration is actively exploring whether there is a "legal pathway" to deport US citizens. Legal scholars and immigration attorneys across the political spectrum have been unequivocal: there is no such pathway.
The Constitutional Protections That Apply
US citizens cannot be deported. This is not a gray area. Immigration law has no provision for deporting American citizens, under any statute, including the Alien Enemies Act. As Cato Institute immigration expert David Bier stated in February 2026: "US citizens may not be deported to imprisonment abroad. There is no authority for that in any US law."
Non-citizen residents retain due process rights. The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law. Federal courts have ruled consistently that this protection extends to all persons within US jurisdiction — including non-citizens in immigration proceedings. In December 2025, District Judge James Boasberg found that the 137 Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act were "plainly deprived" of their constitutional due process rights.
The right to a hearing before removal. Under standard immigration law, a person facing removal is entitled to appear before an immigration judge, present evidence, request asylum, and appeal an adverse ruling. The Alien Enemies Act, even if legally invoked, does not override the Fifth Amendment. Federal courts have repeatedly ruled that detainees must be given the opportunity to challenge their removal before transfer — not after.
Third-country deportation restrictions. A February 2026 federal court ruling found that the system of deporting individuals to third countries (i.e., countries they have no connection to) violates the Constitution and immigration law. The government must, at minimum, give detainees the opportunity to raise concerns that their life or freedom would be endangered in that country.
What the Courts Have Ordered
Federal courts have moved repeatedly to enforce these rights, with mixed results in terms of government compliance.
In February 2026, Judge Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of the deported Venezuelans to the US or provide them conditional entry to challenge their removal — and to pay the transportation costs of returning them. The Supreme Court issued a unanimous 9-0 ruling upholding a lower court's order to "facilitate" the return of Kilmar Ábrego García, a Salvadoran resident who had been deported in error despite a 2019 court order explicitly barring his removal to El Salvador.
The April 14 contempt ruling weakened enforcement of those orders. A divided D.C. Circuit panel froze the criminal contempt probe into DHS officials, finding that the inquiry "encroaches on autonomy" of the executive branch. This is a significant setback: courts can issue orders, but enforcing them against an executive branch that declines to comply has proven difficult.
What You Can Do If a Family Member Is Detained or Deported
If you believe a family member has been wrongly detained or deported — particularly to El Salvador or another third country — the following legal steps are available:
File a habeas corpus petition. Families of detained individuals can file petitions for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court, challenging the lawfulness of detention. This is the most direct legal mechanism to force a judicial review of whether someone is being held lawfully. In the CECOT cases, families filed habeas petitions in late 2025 and courts took them seriously.
Contact an immigration attorney immediately. The timeline for legal action in deportation cases is extremely short. Emergency stays of removal — court orders blocking a deportation — can sometimes be obtained within hours, but only if counsel is engaged before the removal flight. After deportation, options narrow significantly, though they do not disappear entirely.
Contact your elected representatives. Congressional offices can make formal inquiries to the State Department and DHS regarding the status of detained constituents. This is slower than legal action but can apply political pressure and generate documentation useful for future proceedings.
Document everything. Communications, arrest records, immigration documents, passport copies — any documentation should be preserved and provided to an attorney. In the Alvarado case, the lack of preserved documentation of his US citizenship made his situation significantly harder to resolve.
An immigration lawyer can assess whether the circumstances of a detention or deportation violated due process, identify which courts have jurisdiction, file emergency motions, and coordinate with international human rights organizations if the individual is held abroad. The legal landscape here is active and evolving — what a court orders today may be challenged tomorrow.
This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. If you or a family member are facing immigration proceedings, consult a licensed immigration attorney immediately.
