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Judge orders Trump administration to allow attorneys access to Venezuelan man in Salvadoran prison [View all]
It’s the first such order in the mounting legal saga surrounding President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of men to a supermax prison in El Salvador.
Judge orders Trump administration to allow attorneys access to Venezuelan man in Salvadoran prison
— MSNBC (@msnbc.com) 2025-05-19T23:24:47.781Z
Link to tweet
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/venezuelan-man-admitted-us-refugee-sent-salvadoran-prison-rcna207642
A federal judge in Texas ordered the Trump administration Monday to facilitate contact between a Venezuelan man deported to El Salvador and his lawyers, giving the federal government until Wednesday afternoon.
It’s the first such order in the mounting legal saga surrounding President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of men to a supermax prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses. The Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, generally offers zero contact between inmates and the outside world, including their lawyers and families.
The order by Judge Keith P. Ellison of the Southern District of Texas gives the government 24 hours to confirm the location of the plaintiff — a 24-year-old Venezuelan man — and 48 hours to “restore and help maintain attorney-client communication” with him.
“This shows that the court is as concerned as we are as to the whereabouts of this individual and the illegal justification for his continued detention,” said Javier Rivera, the Houston lawyer representing Widmer Josneyder Agelviz Sanguino, the incarcerated Venezuelan man.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the order to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The federal government has been ordered before, including by the Supreme Court, to facilitate the return to the United States of people deported to El Salvador, most notably Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and has argued in response that it has no jurisdiction or ability to do so. Until now, it has not been ordered to facilitate contact between inmates and their lawyers.
It’s the first such order in the mounting legal saga surrounding President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of men to a supermax prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses. The Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, generally offers zero contact between inmates and the outside world, including their lawyers and families.
The order by Judge Keith P. Ellison of the Southern District of Texas gives the government 24 hours to confirm the location of the plaintiff — a 24-year-old Venezuelan man — and 48 hours to “restore and help maintain attorney-client communication” with him.
“This shows that the court is as concerned as we are as to the whereabouts of this individual and the illegal justification for his continued detention,” said Javier Rivera, the Houston lawyer representing Widmer Josneyder Agelviz Sanguino, the incarcerated Venezuelan man.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the order to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The federal government has been ordered before, including by the Supreme Court, to facilitate the return to the United States of people deported to El Salvador, most notably Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and has argued in response that it has no jurisdiction or ability to do so. Until now, it has not been ordered to facilitate contact between inmates and their lawyers.
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