Are the El Salvador Deportations Justifiable?
American ConservativeMAR 20
US Deports More Alleged Gang Members to El Salvador
Above: Seventeen alleged members of either the MS-13 or Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, in San Salvador, El Salvador, after being deported by the United States on March 31, 2025. Image copyright: *** GETTY *** El Salvador Press Presidency Office/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The Trump administration has launched an assault on the rule of law, with mass deportations stripping migrants of due process safeguards and other human rights, especially as they are flown to a country where such rights have been suspended since 2022. If Trump wins here, the attack on constitutional rights will only get worse.
Republican narrative
These deportations have nothing to do with law-abiding migrants, but rather with foreign individuals with confirmed criminal records who took advantage of loose border policies to invade America and commit atrocities against its citizens. Despite criticism, U.S. voters gave Trump a clear mandate to protect the border and stop mass illegal immigration.