After Detaining People in El Salvador Torture Prison for 125 Days, the U.S. Government Must Be Held Accountable for Disappearing Migrants

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 19, Saturday, 2025 — After 125 days imprisoned in El Salvador’s notorious “megaprison,” the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), Venezuelan nationals Edicson Quintero Chacón and Jose Manuel Ramos Bastidas were released yesterday and placed on a U.S.-brokered flight to Venezuela, alongside approximately 250 other Venezuelans whom the United States paid to detain at CECOT. Counsel for both men expressed profound relief at their release, and emphasized the urgent need for accountability from the U.S. Government for disappearing them to CECOT in the first place. 

The U.S. government sent the men to CECOT on March 15, 2025, where they were held incommunicado and without charges in a facility widely condemned for mass arbitrary detention and inhumane treatment. Both Mr. Quintero and Mr. Bastidas had previously been ordered removed from the United States, after which they told a federal court that they just wanted to return home to Venezuela. The U.S. government sent them to CECOT instead. The terms of the agreement with El Salvador specify that the U.S. would send “members” of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), but there is no evidence linking the men to TdA. Their return to Venezuela was part of a prisoner swap deal that included the release from Venezuela of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. 

“This news of flights to Venezuela was like being hit with a bucket of cold water because my family had absolutely no idea this was happening,” said a member of Mr. Quintero Chacón’s family, who asked to remain anonymous. “Edicson should never have been sent to CECOT in the first place. No one should. He was treated cruelly and inhumanely when all he wanted was safety. This so-called prisoner swap doesn’t undo the injustice he suffered, nor the pain and terror that my family has had to endure in the past several months with no idea of whether we’d ever see him again.”

“We have been waiting for this moment for months, and I feel like I can finally breathe, knowing that Jose Manuel is now free from CECOT and on his way home,” said Roynerliz Rodriguez, partner of Jose Manuel Ramos Bastidas. “His son, whom he hasn’t seen since he was four months old, is eagerly waiting for him. These last months have been a living nightmare, not knowing anything about Jose Manuel and only imagining what he must be suffering. I am happy he is free from CECOT, but I also know that we will never be free of the shadow of this experience. There must be justice for all those who suffered this torture.”

Serious concerns remain regarding the legality and transparency of the U.S. government’s actions. Many of the individuals sent to CECOT by the U.S. government had pending asylum claims and expressed credible fear of return to Venezuela. Their forced return to Venezuela, without due process to address their requests for asylum in the United States raises significant questions about the United States’ compliance with domestic and international legal obligations.

Nor has there been any public accounting of how the U.S. government selected individuals for transfer to CECOT or the full scope of conditions they endured. To date, the U.S. government has not released a complete list of names of the people they paid El Salvador to detain, and it remains unclear whether each victim is accounted for. 

The use of foreign detention facilities, particularly those with documented records of systemic abuse, raises serious human rights and due process concerns. The U.S. government should not engage in detention outsourcing arrangements and should not collaborate with regimes that flagrantly violate human rights. There must be a full investigation into these disappearances and clear safeguards barring the Trump Administration from doing this again. 

“We are deeply relieved that Mr. Quintero Chacón and Mr. Ramos Bastidas are finally released from CECOT, but this should never have happened in the first place,” said Rebecca Cassler, senior litigation attorney at the American Immigration Council. “The U.S. government paid to detain these men in one of the world’s most notorious prisons, then denied responsibility while they suffered. For months, the Trump administration misled the courts and the public, pretending it had no control over their fate. This deal proves otherwise. There must be a full investigation into how this happened, and accountability for the grave harm inflicted on these men.”

“We celebrate this news, along with the loved ones of  Mr. Quintero Chacón and Mr. Ramos Bastidas and over 250 Venezuelans who returned to Venezuela yesterday after being disappeared and tortured for months at the direction and expense of the United States government. The ‘deals’ made for these Venezuelans’ confinement and transfers between the United States, El Salvador, and Venezuela treat human beings as bargaining chips and underscore the cruel consequences of criminalizing migration and monetizing torture. The U.S. government must stop these abuses and uphold its obligations to protect the rights and dignity of all people,” said CJ Sandley, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

“It is with great joy and relief that we celebrate Mr. Quintero Chacón’s and Mr. Ramos Bastidas’ safe return to Venezuela and long-overdue reunion with their loved ones. It is unconscionable that they and 250 other Venezuelan men were sent by the United States to be detained at CECOT and forced to endure suffering, the extent of which we still don’t fully know. The administration has tried to wash its hands of the individuals they sent to be tortured, but their release today shows just how involved the government has been throughout this entire process,” said Stephanie M. Alvarez-Jones, Southeast Regional Attorney at the National Immigration Project. “While we celebrate their long overdue release, the government must be held accountable for its outrageous actions.”

The American Immigration Council, Center for Constitutional Rights, and the National Immigration Project represent Mr. Quintero Chacón in his habeas corpus proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, where they have been fighting for his freedom from CECOT. National Immigration Project represents Mr. Ramos Bastidas in his habeas corpus proceeding, which is also before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

For more information, contact:

Elyssa Pachico at the American Immigration Council, epachico@immcouncil.org 503 850 8407
Arianna Rosales, National Immigration Project, media@nipnlg.org
Jen Nessel, Center for Constitutional Rights, press@ccrjustice.org 

About the American Immigration Council

The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers and employs four coordinated approaches to advance change—litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. In January 2022, the Council and New American Economy merged to combine a broad suite of advocacy tools to better expand and protect the rights of immigrants, more fully ensure immigrants’ ability to succeed economically, and help make the communities they settle in more welcoming. Follow the latest Council news and information on BlueSky @immcouncil.org and Instagram at @immcouncil.

About the National Immigration Project: The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who believe that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow the National Immigration Project on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @NIPNLG.

About the Center for Constitutional Rights: The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Follow the Center for Constitutional Rights on Facebook, @theCCR on Twitter/X, and @ccrjustice on Instagram, and @ccrjustice.org on BlueSky.

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Supreme Court Decision Sparks Confusion, Creates New Hurdles for Federal Court Review of Removal Orders

The Supreme Court’s newest immigration-related decision creates a conundrum: certain noncitizens must now appeal their deportation orders before their removal proceedings are even finished. The decision, Riley v. Bondi, is sure to make it more difficult for those noncitizens—all of whom are seeking protection from persecution or torture—to get federal court review of their cases. But it also opens up new technical arguments to get that review.

In Riley,the Court considered two questions about the deadline to seek federal court review of a removal order:

• Is the 30-day deadline to file a petition for review of a removal order with a U.S. court of appeals “jurisdictional?” In other words, if a noncitizen misses the deadline to challenge their deportation order, does that strip the federal appeals court of the ability to review the case?

• When a noncitizen is ordered removed by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officer by reinstating a prior removal order or entering an administrative removal order, but the noncitizen then seeks withholding of removal or protection from deportation under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) in immigration court, does the 30-day petition for review clock start with the DHS removal order or when the immigration court proceedings are finished?  

Answer to Question 1: The Petition for Review Deadline Is Not Jurisdictional, It Is a Claims-Processing Rule

The Court’s unanimous answer to the first question was NO—the 30-day petition for review deadline is not jurisdictional. This means that if a noncitizen misses the deadline, the court of appeals is not entirely barred from considering the case.

Instead, the Court found that the deadline is a “claim-processing” rule. Generally, a claim-processing rule is flexible and can be tolled if the petitioner shows that they were being diligent and missed the deadline due to extraordinary circumstances. However, a mandatory claim-processing rule cannot be tolled—it can only be waived or abandoned by the government.

The Supreme Court did not say whether the 30-day petition for review deadline is a mandatory rule. It is now an open question for the courts of appeals to decide.

Answer to Question 2: The 30-Day Deadline Starts Running When DHS Issues a Reinstatement or Administrative Removal Order

The Court’s majority held that DHS-issued reinstatement and administrative removal orders are final orders of removal that trigger the 30-day deadline, even though the person is still seeking protection from removal in immigration court.

This is a dramatic change in the law. The Court’s ruling overturned decisions from every court of appeals except the Second and Fourth Circuits. Even the Department of Justice had agreed with Mr. Riley that the deadline should not begin until there is a final decision on the person’s applications for withholding and CAT protection.

The Impact

Reinstatement of removal (for noncitizens with prior removal orders) and administrative removal proceedings (for noncitizens with certain criminal convictions who are not lawful permanent residents) have fewer protections than traditional removal proceedings. But these fast-track proceedings include key safeguards: (1) the right to apply for fear-based relief (withholding of removal and protection under CAT) and (2) the right to federal court review.

The Riley decision sets up significant obstacles for noncitizens with reinstatement or administrative removal orders to get review of decisions denying them protection. As Justice Sotomayor (joined by Justices Kagan, Jackson, and Gorsuch) explains in her partial dissent: “One should not be required to appeal an order before it exists.”

Now noncitizens must file petitions for review before they even know whether they will be denied withholding or CAT, let alone the basis for any denial. And they must ask the court of appeals to wait to adjudicate those petitions until the immigration court makes a final decision on their applications.

This is a problem for many reasons, including—

• Unrepresented noncitizens will not know that they have to file a petition for review before their cases are even completed. DHS has yet to set up a system to notify them of this new requirement and the Supreme Court did not order them to do so.
  
• There is no right to appointed counsel in removal proceedings and many, if not most, noncitizens will not have an immigration lawyer representing them.
  
• DHS does not always give people copies of their removal orders, so they may not know when the 30-day clock begins.
  
• Courts of appeals may not be willing to wait for a final decision on the immigration case.

The stakes are high. The noncitizens impacted by this new deadline fear persecution, torture, and even death if they are wrongly removed. And now, they face new and confusing hurdles to seek federal court review of their removal orders.

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How to find a job in Canada as a newcomer: The Ultimate Guide.

Canada is a land of opportunity, attracting people from all over the world with its vibrant culture, diverse landscapes, and strong economy. If you’re considering working in Canada, it’s essential to understand the various work permits and regulations available based on your profile and status. Whether you’re an international student, a visitor, or looking to work in Canada, this guide will help you navigate while searching for your first job.

The post How to find a job in Canada as a newcomer: The Ultimate Guide. appeared first on Canadim.

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Senate Approves Unprecedented Spending for Mass Deportation, Ignoring What’s Broken in our Immigration System

Washington DC, July 1, 2025 — On July 1, the U.S. Senate passed a budget reconciliation bill that includes an unprecedented allocation of funds for immigration detention and enforcement while simultaneously stripping healthcare from millions of Americans.

The bill, passed today with Vice President JD Vance contributing the tie-breaking vote, earmarks some $170 billion for immigration- and border enforcement-related funding provisions. The bill includes:

• $45 billion for building new immigration detention centers, including family detention facilities. This represents a 265 percent annual budget increase to ICE’s current detention budget. It is a 62 percent larger budget than the entire federal prison system and could result in daily detention of at least 116,000 non-citizens.
• $29.9 billion toward ICE’s enforcement and deportation operations, increasing ICE’s annual budget three-fold. 
• Alongside this increased spending in immigration enforcement, between 12 million to 17 million people are at risk of losing their healthcare. 
• Caps the number of immigration judges to 800 despite record backlogs in the immigration court system. 
• $46.6 billion into border wall construction—more than three times what the Trump administration spent on the wall in its first term, despite the failure of the wall to improve or contribute in any meaningful way to border management strategy
• A new $10 billion fund to reimburse DHS for costs related to “safeguard[ing] the borders of the United States to protect against the illegal entry of persons or contraband.” This funding is nearly 50 percent of CBP’s FY 2024 budget. However, unlike a normal budget, this funding would provide very few guardrails and little guidance to DHS on how the funds must be used. As a result, this would become a slush fund for CBP to largely use however it determined.

For full analysis about what is included in the bill, see the Council’s explainer here. 

Altogether, this marks the largest investment in detention and deportation in U.S. history; a policy choice that does nothing to address the systemic failures of our immigration system while inflicting harm, sowing chaos, and tearing families apart.

“This bill will deprive 12 to 17 million Americans of basic health care while investing unprecedented levels of funding in the president’s increasingly unpopular mass deportation agenda, which undermines public safety and creates chaos in American communities,”  said Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council. “At a time when polls show more Americans rejecting mass detention and deportation, this bill ignores what Americans want and doubles down on punitive policies that do nothing to address the real problems in our immigration system including court backlogs, a lack of legal pathways to citizenship, and a broken U.S. asylum system.”

The bill’s enforcement-heavy provisions come at the expense of urgently needed investments in asylum processing, legal representation, community-based alternatives to detention, and support for local governments and nonprofits serving new arrivals.

“Throwing billions at detention centers and enforcement agents is short-sighted. Instead, we should be investing in a system aimed at welcoming immigrants that contribute billions to our economy,” said Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council. “We don’t need more jail beds and indiscriminate raids. We need balanced solutions that strengthen due process and keep families together.”

The bill will now return to the House of Representatives, where members are expected to vote on final passage later this week. Experts at the American Immigration Council are available to talk more in-depth about the specifics of what’s included in the bill, including immigration court, border funding, what happens to unaccompanied children, the increase in ICE agents, and more.

For additional analysis about what is included in the bill, see the Council’s full explainer here.  

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Becoming a Canadian Citizen on Canada Day

Every year on July 1st, people across the country come together to celebrate Canada Day. From fireworks at Niagara Falls to concerts, cultural events, and local gatherings in cities and towns across all provinces and territories. For some, this day has an even more personal meaning as it’s the day they officially become Canadian citizens.

The post Becoming a Canadian Citizen on Canada Day appeared first on Canadim.

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