ICE Agents Largely Decide Whether Detainees Are Gang Members And Should Be Deported, Border Czar Says

Border Czar Tom Homan revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents largely decide whether detainees are linked to gangs and should be deported from the United States.

Speaking to Axios, Homan defended the Trump administration's decision to curtail due process rights for deportees by invoking the wartime Alien Enemies Act, through which it deported over 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison.

"People who are enemies of the United States don't have the same level (of) due process (as in) the normal process," Homan told the outlet. He added that "people keep saying that they have no criminal history" but that "many gang members don't have criminal history."

Despite his claim, the Supreme Court on Monday said that even though the administration can continue using the act to deport Venezuelans, it must give time for judicial review to those who legally challenge the decision.

In the unsigned ruling, the majority said that notices for targeted deportees "must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such a removal occurs."

"The only question is which court will resolve that challenge. For the reasons set forth, we hold that venue lies in the district of confinement," the court detailed.

Little is known about the 238 Venezuelan men who have already been deported and that El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele accepted in its mega-prison system known as CECOT. But through family denouncements and law firms, it has been confirmed that among the group there is a makeup artist, a soccer player, a food delivery driver and more. None of them have been previously accused of committing a crime.

The Trump administration has yet to release the identities of the men it sent to El Salvador. But CBS News recently obtained internal government documents listing the names of the prisoners and any known criminal information, revealing that the vast majority of them did not commit any serious criminal, violent offense.

According to the report, at least 22% of the men on the list have criminal records in the U.S. or abroad. Most are for non-violent offenses like theft, shoplifting and trespassing. About a dozen have been accused of murder, rape, assault and kidnapping.

Homan, however, said that ICE conducts "deep dive" investigations into the detainees, looking at their social media, criminal and immigration records, as well as information from informants and surveillance.

The ACLU revealed in late March that ICE uses a sort of scorecard to determine whether detainees are part of Venezuelan-born gang Tren de Aragua.

The document applies to undocumented migrants who are citizens of Venezuela and over 14 years old, and provides a series of guidelines to decide whether the person will be removed under the wartime Alien Enemies Act and sent to the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador.

Those scoring between 6 and 7 points "may be validated as members of TDA," while those scoring 8 and higher "are validated as members of TDA" and should be removed, the scorecard reads.

The scorecard has five different categories: Judicial outcomes and official documents, self-admission, criminal conduct and information, documents and communications, and symbolism.

Three sub-categories have 10 points, meaning those found to met the criteria will be immediately removed. They are: being convicted of violating Title 18, Section 521 or any other federal or state law criminalizing or imposing civil penalties for activity related to TDA, self-identifying as a member of the gang, even unwillingly, or having phone calls about TDA-related business with known members of the gang.