(NewsNation) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is going to El Salvador, where she will tour the Terrorist Confinement Center with the country’s Minister of Justice on Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security said Noem will also head to Colombia and Mexico this week, adding that the trips underscore the importantance of the United States’ partner countries.
Noem’s slated to meet with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who the administration has touted as a great partner in their deportation efforts.
The Trump administration sent 261 migrants in the country illegally to El Salvador late last week saying they were all members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua or MS-13. Both have been designated as terrorist organizations under the administration.
“The deportations of Tren De Aragua to the El Salvadorian Terrorist Confinement Center sent a message to the world that America is no longer a safe haven for violent criminals,” Noem said on X Wednesday.
Bukele said the alleged gang members would be held at the Terrorist Confinement Center for a year with a renewable contract option. According to The Associated Press, inmates there are packed into cells and never allowed outside.
Controversy has swirled around the Trump administration’s move; however, as family members of some of the individuals hauled off to El Salvador say they are not gang members and they deserve due process.
There’s also been legal challenges, with Judge James Boasberg reviewing whether the government ignored a court order about the flights to El Salvador. The Trump administration insists it didn’t defy the order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.