Trump shares intense deportation video as he thanks El Salvador for taking in ‘monsters’ Biden sent to US

Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday, March 16, to share intense footage of nearly 300 alleged gang members being deported to El Salvador
UPDATED MAR 17, 2025
A senior Donald Trump administration official confirmed that a total of 261 illegal aliens were deported to El Salvador (Getty Images, X/@nayibbukele)
A senior Donald Trump administration official confirmed that a total of 261 illegal aliens were deported to El Salvador (Getty Images, X/@nayibbukele)

WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump just turned up the heat by shedding light on his immigration enforcement efforts with a video that has everyone talking.

The president took to his Truth Social app on Sunday, March 16, to share intense footage of nearly 300 alleged gang members being deported to El Salvador—along with a blistering message slamming Joe Biden and the Democrats. 



 

Donald Trump shares intense footage of deported gang members 

The video—originally posted by El Salvador’s tough-on-crime president, Nayib Bukele—shows hundreds of accused criminals reportedly linked to the ruthless Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs arriving in El Salvador under heavy security.

Salvadoran authorities weren’t playing around. The clip shows masked officers forcing the alleged gang members to keep their heads down as they’re herded off planes, their heads shaved before being marched—hands behind their necks—into a high-security prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center.

This is where they’ll stay locked up for at least a year.



 

Trump shared the video on Truth Social as he unleashed a scathing rebuke of Biden’s policies. "These are the monsters sent into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats," he wrote. "How dare they!"

"Thank you to El Salvador and, in particular, President Bukele, for your understanding of this horrible situation, which was allowed to happen to the United States because of incompetent Democrat leadership," Trump continued. "We will not forget!"

Trump wasn’t the only one praising Bukele. Senator Marco Rubio also showered the Salvadoran leader with praise for helping tackle gang violence. "President @nayibbukele is not only the strongest security leader in our region, he’s also a great friend of the US," Rubio posted on X. "Thank you!"



 

How did Donald Trump pull off the mass deportation?

The Trump administration invoked the rarely used 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify deporting hundreds of violent criminals and gang members.

A senior Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News that a total of 261 illegal aliens were deported to El Salvador on Sunday. Among them, 137 were deported under the Alien Enemies Act, 101 Venezuelans were removed under Title 8, 21 were Salvadoran MS-13 gang members, and 2 MS-13 ringleaders were considered “special cases” for El Salvador.

And these weren’t just small-time offenders. The rap sheets of those deported include kidnapping, aggravated assault, prostitution, robbery, and even aggravated assault of a police officer.



 

But of course, the ACLU wasn’t having it.

Federal judge tries to stop flights

The ACLU rushed to court the moment these deportations hit the headlines, arguing that Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act was illegal. In response, US District Judge James Boasberg issued an emergency ruling to block further deportations.

The problem, however, was that the planes had already taken off.



 

An administration official declared, "We did not defy a court order. The order came too late, and illegals were already in international airspace."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also doubled down.

"The written order and the Administration’s actions do not conflict," Leavitt told Fox News. "A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from US soil," she added.

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