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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is set to embark on a significant diplomatic mission, visiting three countries including El Salvador, where she will inspect the maximum-security prison that houses deported migrants from the United States.
During her visit to El Salvador, Noem will tour the Terrorist Confinement Center alongside the country’s justice minister, followed by a meeting with President Nayib Bukele. Her itinerary also includes discussions with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Colombian leadership.
Speaking at a White House Cabinet meeting on Monday, Noem outlined her upcoming trip. “I’ll be in the prison where we sent [Tren De Aragua] gang members,” she said. “I’ll be meeting with the president and also Colombia and Mexico and talking about building these relationships so we can continue to get people out of this country that don’t belong here and take them home.”
🚨🇺🇸🇸🇻 SEC NOEM TOUCHES DOWN IN EL SALVADOR, HEADS TO CECOT PRISON
Sec Kristi Noem is visiting the high-security CECOT facility where Tren de Aragua members deported from the U.S. are locked up.
She’ll also meet with President Bukele to talk crime, security, and keeping violent… https://t.co/ajub5MZNjp pic.twitter.com/PnjsoA8FLV
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 26, 2025
The secretary revealed that President Donald Trump has discussed with her the importance of conveying a global message against illegal immigration to the United States.
The visit comes amid legal challenges concerning the recent deportation of over 200 alleged Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members to the El Salvador facility, with a federal judge currently blocking further deportations.
Concurrent with these developments, the Department of Human Services has launched a substantial $200 million media campaign, aimed at deterring illegal immigration and encouraging those without legal status to depart the country.
Kristi Noem announces she's traveling to the brutal prison in El Salvador that Trump deported migrants to for relationship building pic.twitter.com/wknlysWguz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 24, 2025
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin emphasized the administration’s stance in a statement: “President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message for criminal aliens considering entering America illegally: don’t even think about it. If you come to our country and break our laws, we will hunt you down and lock you up. This trip underscores the importance of our partner countries to help remove violent criminal illegal aliens from the United States.”
During Monday’s meeting, Noem reinforced this message, stating that the administration is actively communicating with various nations worldwide about the consequences of illegal immigration, emphasizing that legal pathways to citizenship exist and must be followed.
