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Rep. Jayapal probes Trump's deportations to third countries
The hearing focused on allegations that migrants have been forcibly deported to nations.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 07, Jun 2025
- 13:59 EDT
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Pramila Jayapal and Donald Trump / File Photo/ Wikipedia /
Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) on June 6 convened a shadow hearing to investigate what she described as “lawless third country disappearances” under the Trump administration.
Titled Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Lawless Third Country Disappearances, the hearing focused on allegations that migrants have been forcibly deported to nations such as El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, South Sudan, and Libya—without due process or removal proceedings.
Also Read: Rep. Jayapal slams Trump’s expanded US travel ban
“Since taking office in January, President Trump has shown nothing but utter contempt for the Constitution,” said Jayapal. “In his obsession to deport as many immigrants—lawful and undocumented—as he can, he has violated multiple constitutional rights.” She said the deportations have bypassed Congress, defied court orders, and inflicted “untold damage to our democracy.”
The hearing featured testimony from Lindsay Toczylowski, president and CEO of Immigrant Defenders Law Center; Robyn Barnard, Senior Director of Refugee Advocacy at Human Rights First; Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project; and Beatriz Guzman, a Venezuelan-American immigration attorney.
Barnard stated that many of the deportations occurred without the required legal procedures. “These actions are part of a broader effort to subvert due process,” she said, noting that migrants were often held incommunicado and in harsh conditions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Toczylowski highlighted the case of Andry Hernández Romero, a gay immigrant with no criminal record, deported to El Salvador. “Andry’s case… is about whether we will fight to uphold the rights enshrined by the Constitution,” she said, referencing more than 230 individuals who have reportedly been transferred to the CECOT prison in El Salvador.
Gelernt criticized the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act as a legal basis for such deportations. “Even if immigrants are given due process, we do not think that this wartime authority can be used during peacetime,” he said.
Guzman spoke of the pervasive fear within immigrant communities, even among those who are U.S. citizens. “Even when we leave our homes with U.S. passports, we feel it too,” she said. “It is a flashback to the culture of fear my father fled over 20 years ago.”
Jayapal, ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, announced that this was the first in a series of shadow hearings aimed at examining the Trump administration’s immigration policies and their implications for constitutional protections and democratic accountability.
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