Man deported to El Salvador under Alien Enemies Act because of soccer logo tattoo: Attorney
El Salvador Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — An attorney representing a migrant sent to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act says her client was deported due to a soccer logo tattoo, according to court declarations submitted Wednesday night.
Linette Tobin is representing Jerce Reyes Barrios, a professional soccer player from Venezuela who protested the Maduro regime in February and March 2024 and was detained and tortured after one of the demonstrations.
Barrios came to the U.S.-Mexico border legally through the CBP One app in September 2024 but has been accused of being a Tren de Aragua, or TdA, member and was detained at a facility under maximum security, Tobin said.
The Biden administration expanded the use of the CBP One phone application to allow migrants to submit some background information and schedule appointments with immigration officials at ports of entry. Officials would then determine if the person could be allowed into the country, some in order to submit an asylum claim. President Donald Trump eliminated that feature during his first days in office.
The Department of Homeland Security has accused Barrios of having a gang-affiliated tattoo and claimed a photo of him showed him displaying gang signs. ABC News has reached out to DHS.
The tattoo in question showed a crown sitting on top of a soccer ball with a rosary and the word “Dios” (God), according to Tobin. A declaration from the tattoo artist confirmed that Barrios chose it because it was similar to the Real Madrid soccer team logo, the attorney said. According to Tobin, those alleged gang signs were the hand symbol for rock and roll and “I love you” in sign language.
Tobin also said she submitted records from Venezuela that indicated Barrios had no criminal record in his home country and was employed as a professional soccer player and children’s soccer coach.
Barrios was transferred out of maximum security after submitting this evidence and had a hearing set for April 17, according to his attorney.
Around March 10 or 11, Tobin said her client was transferred to Texas without notice and was promptly deported to El Salvador on March 15.
“Counsel and family have lost all contact with him and have no information” about his whereabouts, Tobin wrote in the court documents.
Trump announced on Saturday he had signed a proclamation declaring that the Tren de Aragua gang was “conducting irregular warfare” against the United States and therefore would deport its members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from deporting noncitizens under the Alien Enemies Act and ordered that they turn around two flights the administration said were deporting alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador.
After officials failed to turn the flights around, Judge Boasberg demanded they provide more information about the flights, under seal, but Justice Department attorneys refused, citing national security concerns. According to a court filing Wednesday morning, DOJ attorneys said they are considering invoking the state secrets privilege to deny the judge that information.
(SANA’A, Yemen) — President Donald Trump announced he ordered the U.S. military to launch “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis in Yemen.
“They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective.”
A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that U.S. air and naval assets hit dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen, including missiles, radars and drone and air defense systems. The official characterized the attacks as an opening salvo against the Houthis and sends a strong message to Iran.
A spokesman for Yemen’s ministry of health said at least nine people have been killed in the strikes and another nine injured. He said most of the casualties were civilians, and the number of those killed and injured will be updated as rescue and recovery efforts continue.
The strikes are the largest and most significant military action that Trump has taken in his second term.
The Houthi attacks were carried out by fighter jets from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, now in the northern Red Sea, as well as Air Force attack planes and armed drones launched from bases in the region, according to a source familiar with the plan.
Trump approved the plan on Friday, the source added.
The strikes Saturday are the result of several high-level White House meetings this week with Trump and top national security aides, including Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Michael E. Kurilla.
The attacks could intensify in scope and scale depending on the Houthi reaction, a source familiar with the plan said.
The source stressed this is not expected to be a single day event and said that “this will be decisive.”
Earlier in March, the Houthis warned they would resume attacking shipping vessels if Israel’s blockade of aid in Gaza continued.
Trump also had a stark message for Iran, writing that its support for the Houthis must end “immediately.” The president redesignated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization via an executive order in first days in office.
In a message to the Houthis, Trump threatened that if the attacks don’t stop, then “hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before.”
The Biden administration also conducted multiple strikes against the Houthis as they disrupted international shipping lanes in the Red Sea with attacks.
The last U.S. airstrike in Yemen against the Houthis occurred on Jan. 8, while former President Joe Biden was still in office, when a precision strike targeted two underground ammunition bunkers. There had been no other airstrikes since then partly because the Houthis stopped attacking ships during the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
Trump slammed his predecessor, writing, “Joe Biden’s response was pathetically weak, so the unrestrained Houthis just kept going.”
Since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the Houthis have launched more than 100 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, causing disruptions to global trade through one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The Houthi rebels had initially framed their attacks as a way to pressure Israel to stop the war that was launched following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. But as shippers began to avoid the regions of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the rebel strikes still continued.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(BETHLEHEM, PA) — At a “People’s Town Hall” on Thursday held by the Democratic National Committee, in a church located in a Pennsylvania district that Democrats lost to Republicans in 2024, party leaders fired up the crowd when slamming the White House and congressional Republicans over Medicaid, federal government cuts, and other issues.
Town halls are among the strategies that Democrats are using to try to get their base fired up against the Trump White House — but attendees there and at other events say they’re still looking for the Democratic Party to take on Republicans more directly.
DNC chair Ken Martin, speaking at the Bethlehem event, called President Donald Trump and key adviser Elon Musk “cowards,” riling up the crowd by framing the work of the duo in stark terms.
“There’s nothing moral about what these cowards are doing, and there’s nothing moral about what we saw today in Washington, D.C., as Donald Musk — Donald Trump and his president, President Musk, decided to do, signing that executive order eliminating the Department of Education, which is going to have a disproportionate impact on the disabled community and so many children throughout this country,” Martin told the crowd, amidst boos towards Trump and Musk.
And Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who received among the loudest applause of any of the panelists, took a starker tone: “Don’t let anybody tell you that we’re in a constitutional crisis,” Raskin said.
“Because that is too passive-sounding. That’s too ambiguous. This is an attack on the Constitution of the United States, and we’re going to defend the Constitution of the United States!”
Republicans face fierce pushback at in-person events
The Democratic Party claims that it’s holding these town halls as a way to hear directly from voters.
“The purpose of these town halls is not for us to spread our message, but us to hear from people throughout this country right now who are facing deep and serious impacts to their own lives, to their neighborhoods and communities, because of what this administration is doing,” Martin told ABC News on Thursday after the town hall.
But Martin and others, explicitly, are also emphasizing the idea that Democrats are showing up and hosting these events while Republicans are pulling back from hosting in-person events or facing fierce pushback from constituents when they do. Some of the loudest applause in the church on Thursday came when speakers criticized the district’s representative, Ryan Mackenzie — who in 2024 narrowly flipped the seat held by Democrat Susan Wild.
Arnaud Armstrong, a spokesman for Mackenzie, told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday that Mackenzie has answered questions at in-person events and would run a telephone town hall on Thursday night to allow for more people to speak with the congressman, including people with disabilities or seniors who might struggle to make it to an in-person event.
During that telephone town hall, Mackenzie said, “This is the best way that I have found to reach literally thousands of people at once and be able to have this kind of conversation.”
Disillusioned Democrats
The town halls come as Democratic voters show disillusion with their party.
A recent CNN/SSRS poll taken in early March found that 52% of Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents felt that the leadership of the Democrats is taking the party in the wrong direction, and that 57% felt that the party should mainly work to “stop the Republican agenda.”
While waiting in line outside to enter the town hall, some residents of Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region told ABC News that President Donald Trump’s actions struck close to home or worried them — but that they felt disillusioned with the broader Democratic response so far.
‘Very mixed feelings’ on Democrats’ response to Trump
Carole Ostfeld, a retired teacher from Allentown, Pennsylvania, came bearing a sign that said “Hands off Medicaid.” She and her husband David told ABC News that they came out to the town hall in order to protest Trump and Musk, including because of Trump’s actions with the Department of Education.
But asked how they feel about the Democratic response to the Trump administration, Carole Ostfeld said, “I’ve got very mixed feelings –“
Her husband added, “It needs to be more.”
Asked if Democrats’ messaging is resonating with them, Carole Ostfeld said it is — but, “as they say, you can’t fight city hall,” as Republicans are in power.
Another attendee, Ann Frechette of Easton, Pennsylvania, said the news about Trump signing an order to dismantle the Department of Education, which came that day, struck close to home. “I have a son in college who benefits from a Pell Grant,” she told ABC News. “And I’m afraid that that Pell Grant will disappear, that monies like that will disappear. He’s on Medicaid, I think he may lose his health insurance. There’s so many things.”
But the broader Democratic response was disillusioning her as well. While she praised some individual lawmakers, including Raskin, she added, “I think the Democrats in general, they don’t — I’m a Democrat, but my party doesn’t seem to get the message that was delivered last November. I would like people to stand up to what is being done.”
Firing up supporters
That said, the town hall itself was by many measures a success — or at least, the Democratic speakers were able to fire up their supporters.
All of the pews were filled, with some attendees standing on the back or the sides of the sanctuary; and the crowd gave thunderous standing ovations to the speakers multiple times – particularly when, for instance, Raskin spoke about taking on Trump or former Democratic Rep. Susan Wild criticized the incumbent representative.
People paid attention as audience members shared their own stories and questions, and then applauded them warmly, cheering on their peers in a clear show of support.
During a question and answer portion of the town hall, attendees raised concerns about the future of Medicaid, educational programs, and other issues.
Another attendee, Terri Neifert, told the crowd that she has lived in Bethlehem almost her entire life and became disabled after a fall at a grocery store, which changed the trajectory of her life. She said she managed to get her degree and to support her family through Medicare, food banks, and Social Security disability.
“If they cut Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps… I would lose everything,” Neifert told the crowd.
Neifert received a round of applause from the audience, and other attendees went up to her after the event wrapped to thank her for sharing her story.
Asked by ABC News after the town hall how she was feeling by then about the Democrats’ response to the Trump administration, Neifert — similar to other attendees — focused on the road ahead.
“It looks like it’s gonna be a fight, and an uphill battle… more public outcry, more marches, and Congress needs to pull up their big boy pants and start doing their job,” Neifert said.
Going on the road
Some Democrats or Democratic-aligned allies are taking a different tack than the town halls — and going on the road.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive independent who caucuses with Democrats, has been on the road for weeks with what he calls the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, making stops for rallies in both right- and left-leaning districts. The Democratic Party has shown support for his efforts, reposting social media posts from Sanders about the tour.
Out there on Sanders’ tour, some attendees said they’re disillusioned with the party’s response to Trump.
“They gotta be a little tougher,” one rally attendee told “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl at the Denver event. Another was blunter: “Quit being a bunch of doormats.”
But — in a sign that the rallies may be a successful tactic for Democrats to reach their base — they’re attracting thousands of people. Sander’s Denver appearance, alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., brought in more than 30,000 attendees.
Sanders said it was the largest rally he’s ever hosted — bigger than the rallies on his two presidential runs.
Sanders himself has his own criticism for the Democratic Party, telling Karl in an interview on ABC News’ “This Week” that the Democrats should have done more for working people when they had control of the Senate.
“And since then, do I think the Democrats have been effective in rallying the American people, in stopping Trump’s movement toward oligarchy and authoritarianism? No, I don’t,” Sanders told Karl.
Donna Brazile, a former DNC chair and an ABC News contributor, said on “This Week” after Sanders’ interview, said, “Bernie Sanders is filling a void, a major void left after, of course, the defeat of Kamala Harris last year by Donald Trump. This void has to be filled because there’s so much anger, anger not just in red districts, but also in blue districts.”
That void is one that Democrats hope to fill with these events.
Martin, asked by ABC News after the Bethlehem town hall if he thought the messages of the Democrats is going to resonate in Republican districts or with Democrats themselves, said that wasn’t really the point.
“It’s really not about the message resonating,” Martin said. “What this is about is listening to people. Hearing the concerns of Americans right now throughout this country, who deserve to be heard, right?”
Martin added later: “We’re going to fill a void for them, and we’re going to talk to more people throughout this country.”
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie, Isabella Murray, Jonathan Karl, Meghan Mistry and Quinn Scanlan contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — After creating history by smashing the record for the longest Senate speech in history, Sen. Cory Booker told reporters as he walked off the floor that he was achy and tired, but grateful for his time.
“I didn’t know how long I could go. I’m so grateful I lasted for 25 hours,” Booker said.
Without taking a seat for the entirety of his speech, dehydration, the New Jersey senator said, had its pros and cons.
Booker sidestepped a question of whether he had any sort of device or diaper on to help him with bathroom demands.
However, he did say he didn’t need to use the restroom for the entirety of the 25 hours because of an incredibly rigorous fasting routine.
“My strategy was to stop eating. I think I stopped eating on Friday, and then to stop drinking the night before I started on Monday. And that had its benefits and it had its really downsides,” he said.
“The biggest thing I was fighting was that different muscles were starting to really cramp up, and every once a while, spasm or something.”
Booker’s speech, which began Monday evening, continued for a total of 25 hours and 4 minutes, surpassing the previous record set by Sen. Strom Thurmond, who filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes.
Booker was “very aware” of Thurmond’s record going into the speech.
“I was very aware of Strom Thurmond’s records since I got to the Senate. I always felt that it was a strange shadow to hang over this institution,” Booker told reporters.
“The mission was really to elevate voices of Americans to tell some of their really meaningful stories, very emotional stories, and to let go and let god.” To prepare, Booker said he tried to make himself as light as possible, and took everything out of his pockets except for a notecard with a handwritten Bible verse on it: Isaiah 40:31. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint,” Booker read.
He relied on his faith, he said, at one point praying with Reverend Sen. Raphael Warnock ahead of the speech.
For the entirety of his marathon talk-a-thon, Booker occupied the small square of space surrounding his desk.
