Analysis-Trump officials push immigrant gang message, but sometimes don't back it up in court

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -As U.S. President Donald Trump's administration cracks down on immigration, its officials have repeatedly publicly identified detainees as gang leaders or even terrorists, without attempting to back those inflammatory claims up in court.

After an FBI SWAT team on March 27 raided the home of a 24-year-old Salvadoran man living illegally in Virginia, Attorney General Pam Bondi, standing alongside FBI Director Kash Patel in a morning press conference, alleged the man was one of the top three U.S. leaders of the violent MS-13 street gang and called him a terrorist.

Less than two weeks later, the Justice Department moved to drop the only charge it had brought against him -- illegal possession of a firearm by an alien -- and Bondi said he would face deportation instead.

In another arrest two weeks earlier, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pulled over a Salvadoran man in Maryland and handcuffed him while his 5-year-old son, who is autistic and non-verbal, sat in the backseat, according to a legal complaint. ICE called the man's wife and told her she had 10 minutes to pick up her son before they contacted child protective services, she said in a court filing.

After the Trump administration erroneously deported the man - Kilmar Abrego Garcia - to El Salvador, the White House claimed he was involved in human trafficking. But the allegation has not appeared in court records related to his deportation.

Abrego Garcia was deported alongside 238 Venezuelan men alleged to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang who are now held in a high-security Salvadoran prison. A U.S. immigration official conceded in court filings that many of the deportees had no criminal record but maintained they were still dangerous.

When asked on Wednesday why the Trump administration would not provide details of the allegations against the Venezuelan deportees, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she trusted the U.S. government assessment and that the men should remain imprisoned "for the rest of their lives."

Prosecutors normally avoid making public allegations of serious criminal conduct -- like leading a gang, being a terrorist or engaging in human trafficking -- without presenting evidence in court to back up those charges, because they can jeopardize criminal cases, legal experts said. They also undermine a core plank of the U.S. legal system that people have an opportunity to contest claims brought by the government.

"In a court of law, when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, a complaint, a criminal proceeding, that then has robust process so we can assess the facts," U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said during an April 4 court hearing, ordering Abrego Garcia, returned to the U.S.

The U.S. Supreme Court largely upheld that ruling.

In a response to Reuters, U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed that Venezuelans deported to El Salvador without U.S. criminal records "are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more" but did not present evidence of the accusations.

"We are putting the American people first by removing illegal aliens who pose a threat to our communities," McLaughlin said.

A separate Trump administration official said the White House could not share "sensitive information about our intelligence and intelligence-gathering operations" but had confidence in government determinations.

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

PUSHING A NARRATIVE

Trump, a Republican, took office in January promising a sweeping immigration crackdown. He frequently linked illegal immigration and crime although studies show immigrants do not commit crime at a higher rate than native-born Americans.  

Trump has stepped up enforcement against transnational gangs, designating Tren de Aragua, MS-13 and six Mexican cartels as terrorist groups, citing murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and other crimes. 

"There's a narrative that the government wants to be able to convey, and it's one that helped get the president elected, which is that there are a lot of dangerous people who have come into our country illegally," said Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School. "This is a legal strategy being used to serve a political agenda."

Legal experts said out-of-court statements could prompt defense attorneys to seek dismissal of charges or transfer to another court on the grounds that a potential jury has been tainted. 

Justice Department policy normally limits public statements about pending cases to information in publicly available documents such as indictments or complaints and bars commentary about a defendant's character.

In the Virginia case, the Trump administration's decision to deport 24-year-old Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos could mean that U.S. authorities will never have to prove Bondi's allegation that he is one of the top leaders of MS-13 in the United States.

A criminal complaint filed the day of Villatoro Santos' arrest made no mention of his alleged leadership in MS-13, saying only that "indicia of MS-13 association" had been found in his bedroom as well as four guns and ammunition. 

A lawyer for Villatoro Santos has asked a judge to delay ruling on the request to drop the charges, referencing Bondi's comments and warning of a risk he will be sent to El Salvador without a right to contest his removal. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

AVOIDING THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION

The Justice Department traditionally seeks to keep high-level criminals in its custody and prosecute them in the United States rather than trust foreign governments to deliver justice.

"The old DOJ stayed quiet in the court of public opinion, careful not to jeopardize its investigations or the civil liberties of the accused," said Anthony Coley, who served as the department's chief spokesperson during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. "The Trump team does the opposite - actively shaping public opinion and chasing headlines."

Xinis, the judge in the Maryland deportation case, chastised the Justice Department for relying on a "vague, uncorroborated allegation" to connect Abrego Garcia to MS-13.

The government in that case, a civil lawsuit, has relied on a 2019 local police report, which used information from a confidential informant to allege he was a member of MS-13. An immigration judge separately found the report credible. Abrego Garcia has denied any ties to MS-13.

Federal authorities during the Trump administration have arrested people with detailed evidence of alleged links to MS-13. The FBI on April 1 arrested a fugitive and an alleged leader in a local MS-13 gang who had been charged in 2021 in a conspiracy linked to 11 murders in Nevada and California.

U.S. authorities in March took into custody Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, charged in 2023 in an indictment accusing him of helping to direct MS-13's activities in the United States and internationally. Roman-Bardales has pleaded not guilty.

As the Trump administration tried to arrest and deport some alleged gang members without presenting evidence, it also dropped a major federal case against an MS-13 leader. 

Federal prosecutors had accused Cesar Lopez-Larios of allegedly directing acts of violence, murder, kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking. But they moved to drop the charges on March 11, saying El Salvador would first proceed with its own case.

"The United States has determined that sensitive and important foreign policy considerations outweigh the government's interest in pursuing the prosecution," a top prosecutor wrote to the judge overseeing the case.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Ted Hesson, additional reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)