While touring El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivered a clear warning to criminal illegal aliens.
Watch the video down below.
Noem did not mince words during her visit, directly addressing those who might consider entering the United States illegally.
“President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW,” she declared. “If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison.”
“If you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you could face,” Noem warned, remarking that the days of catch-and-release immigration policies are over.
The Trump administration’s deportation strategy is showing real results as gang members who once terrorized American communities now face harsh consequences in one of the world’s most intimidating correctional facilities.
Noem visited the high-security mega-prison as part of her Latin America tour focused on migration and security cooperation.
The facility currently holds hundreds of suspected members of the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs deported from the United States.
These illegals remain alongside 15,000 other inmates in conditions designed specifically to deter violent criminal behavior.
During her tour, Noem observed inmates and the heavy weaponry used by guards.
Her visit represents the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance approach to illegal immigration and gang activity.
It also comes as part of a broader effort to expand deportation capabilities for violent criminals and illegal aliens threatening American communities.
The Trump administration has already deported 238 Venezuelans alleged to be gang members to the facility.
The administration based the deportations on the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to expedite the process despite legal challenges from left-wing organizations.
The ACLU and Democracy Forward have sued the administration, claiming it is “improperly attempting to bypass the procedures and protections in immigration law.”
These organizations continue to prioritize the rights of criminal aliens over the safety of American citizens.
El Salvador received $6 million for accepting these detainees, who are to be held for at least a year in the prison’s notoriously strict conditions.
CECOT, which opened in 2023, is infamous for its dehumanizing conditions and minimal amenities.
The prison was specifically designed to house the country’s most dangerous criminals, with most inmates serving life sentences and considered beyond rehabilitation, according to El Salvador’s Minister of Justice.
Sources close to the discussions report that Noem is expected to ask El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to make more room for additional deportees as the administration ramps up its efforts to remove dangerous criminals from American streets.
The Trump administration uses various elements, including tattoos, to identify gang affiliations, though leftist critics argue these are merely “cultural symbols.”
Following her El Salvador visit, Noem will continue her three-day Latin American tour with stops in Colombia and Mexico to meet with their respective presidents about strengthening regional security cooperation.
