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In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s unlawful transfer of hundreds of migrants to a torture prison in El Salvador, the administration claimed that it had no legal authority to bring them back to the United States. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele claimed, in turn, that he did not “have the power” to return wrongfully deported migrants, and wouldn’t even if he did.
On Monday, lawyers for the Venezuelan men filed documents before District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., showing that the Salvadoran government told the United Nations that the U.S. retains ultimate authority over the men the Trump administration shipped to CECOT, the infamous mega-prison in El Salvador.
The documents directly undercut statements made publicly by top Trump administration officials. They also contradict statements made in the case before Boasberg, which involves the transfer of hundreds of Venezuelan men to El Salvador, as well as in the case involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was illegally sent to prison in El Salvador despite a “protection from removal” order prohibiting him from being deported there.
According to reports from the United Nations Office Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances — which were submitted as evidence in J.G.G. v. Trump on Monday — the Salvadoran government claimed it had no authority over the individuals dumped in its prison system, and was only fulfilling an agreement with the Trump administration.
“The actions of the state of El Salvador have been limited to the implementation of a bilateral cooperation mechanism with another state, through which it has facilitated the use of the Salvadoran prison infrastructure for the custody of persons detained within the scope of the justice system and law enforcement of that other state,” the Salvadoran government told the U.N. “In this context, the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters.”
The nation added, “In this regard, the actions attributable to the Salvadoran state are limited to its sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction, and therefore it cannot be held responsible for the failure to observe the principle of non-refoulement with respect to the persons mentioned.”
The Trump administration has refused to release its agreements with El Salvador to house migrants in its prisons, offering claims about how this information is “classified,” subject to attorney-client privilege, or even a state secret.
The lawyers for petitioners in J.G.G. noted Monday that the U.S. government had been copied on these reports to the U.N., which transmitted in April, as part of several cases regarding claims of enforced or involuntary disappearances. They argued that the Trump Justice Department wrongfully failed to provide the documents as part of discovery before Boasberg’s court.
And they pointed to the sworn deposition the Justice Department provided to the court in May, written under penalty of perjury, from State Department official Michael Kozak.
“It was and remains my understanding that the detention and ultimate disposition of those detained in CECOT and other Salvadoran detention facilities are matters within the legal authority of El Salvador in accordance with its domestic and international legal obligations,” Kozak wrote in the filing.
The lawyers requested additional discovery in the case before Boasberg, noting “this new evidence contradicts the underlying custody conclusion in the Kozak declaration of May 9, 2025, which is dated after El Salvador’s responses to the U.N. and after petitioners sought habeas review.”
The topic of jurisdiction over the men whom Trump shipped to El Salvador came up again Monday in the Maryland case regarding Abrego Garcia’s unlawful deportation, which the Supreme Court found to be “illegal.”
Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States last month so he could be indicted on new charges in Tennessee, after the Trump administration refused for weeks to comply with court orders mandating his return. Last week, attorneys for Abrego Garcia said he had been physically and psychologically tortured in El Salvador’s CECOT.
“The detainees were confined to metal bunks with no mattresses in an overcrowded cell with no windows, bright lights that remained on 24 hours a day, and minimal access to sanitation,” a court filing said, adding that Abrego Garcia and other inmates had been beaten by guards and forced to kneel for hours on end while in the prison.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis grilled lawyers for the Justice Department on their reasoning for previously claiming they had no authority over Abrego Garcia, only to level a dubious criminal indictment against him, and bring him back to the United States with the intent to deport him to a third country.
The Justice Department “secured an indictment against Mr. Abrego Garcia on May 21,” Xinis said. “How could you six days later say you had no power to produce him… why else would you file a criminal indictment against someone who you can’t produce? It’s illogical.”
