The US Homeland Security Secretary issued a stark warning to 'criminal illegal aliens' in the US during a visit to El Salvador's brutal mega-prison.
Kristi Noem, 53, shared a chilling video from inside the fearsome Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) across social media on Wednesday (26 March).
It's where more than 250 alleged gang members were sent on the orders of President Donald Trump earlier this month after he controversially invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
The 18th-century law, intended for use in wartime, gives him the power to detain or deport natives of an enemy nation without giving noncitizens a chance to go before an immigration or federal court judge.
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It was originally put in place to combat foreign espionage during wars. Still, the act can also controversially be used against immigrants - even when they haven't been found guilty of any crime.
According to AP, Noem toured CECOT and examined two crowded cell blocks, the armoury, and an isolation unit.
The publication reported that she then visited a cell block where Salvadoran inmates were being held before guards 'lined them up' and told them to remove their t-shirts and face masks.
Noem then used this as a backdrop for her social media video, which she used to send a harsh warning to non-Americans who are on US soil.
You can see the video here:
In the clip shared to Instagram, she said: "I'm here at CECOT today, visiting this facility and first of all I want to thank El Salvador and their President for their partnership with the United States of America to bring our terrorists here and to incarcerate them and have consequences for the violence that they have perpetuated in our communities.
"I also want everybody to know that if you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you could face. First of all, do not come to our country illegally. You will be removed and you will be prosecuted.
"But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people."
In the caption of the post, Noem said she and Trump have a 'clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW."
Reiterating her chilling warning, she added: "If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison."
During her visit to the country, the Homeland Security Secretary also met with El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele, who opened CECOT in February 2023 as part of his crackdown on crime.
Prisoners are forced to follow a host of 'inhumane' rules at the maximum security jail while living off a 'lacklustre diet' and under the threat of being thrown into the terrifying solitary confinement cell.
"This unprecedented relationship we have with El Salvador is going to be a model for other countries on how they can work with America," Noem told reporters (via AP).
After thrashing out the prison deal with Bukele back in February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that anyone who needs to be deported from the US could be sent to CECOT.
Rubio said that even US citizens and legal residents currently in criminal custody in the States could face being sent to the maximum security prison.
Bukele also confirmed these plans, explaining he had 'offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system'.
Topics: Prison, US News, World News, Crime
Olivia Burke