Suspected Tren de Aragua, MS-13 members sent to El Salvador

(NewsNation) — A group of 17 suspected criminals and Venezuelan gang members was flown to El Salvador on Sunday night in what Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized Monday as a “successful counter-terrorism operation.”

Rubio wrote on X that the U.S. military transferred a group of violent criminals from the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 organizations, “including murderers and rapists from the United States.”

The post also said that President Donald Trump designated Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations “in order to keep the American people safe.”

“These criminals will no longer terrorize our communities and citizens,” Rubio wrote.

17 immigrants deported, White House confirmed

A post on X by El Salvador President Nayib Bukele included video of military members escorting the 17 immigrants off of a U.S. Air Force plane and being transported to an El Salvador prison.

A White House official confirmed to NewsNation on Monday that the 17 immigrants were deported within regular immigration law. All of them had final orders of removal and deportation orders, the official said.

Fox News published the names of the 17 people in a social media post Monday. The list included the reported criminal histories of the immigrants, seven of which a White House official told Fox News were members of Tren de Aragua.

The post said that the 17 immigrants were previously being held at Guantanamo Bay.

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Others included on the list included Salvadorian nationals that the White House official told the network were convicted of serious crimes, including rape, homicide and sexual assault of a minor, the post said.

“Every day, America becomes safer, thanks to the leadership of President Trump,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement provided to Fox News. “If you’re an illegal terrorist or criminal – the Trump administration is coming for you.”

Rubio’s social media post extended thanks to Bukele and the El Salvador government for their “unparalleled partnership in making our countries safe against transnational crime and terrorism.”

Deportations under the Alien Enemies Act

The deportations come just days after the Department of Defense asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in overturning a U.S. district court judge’s ruling to temporarily block deportations of Venezuelan nationals who were deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

Last week, Judge James Boasberg paused the scheduled flights, saying that the detainees deserve a hearing in which they plan to deny that they are gang members.

Boasberg is also seeking more details about two flights on March 15 to decide if the administration defied his oral and written orders to block the flights. A panel of appellate court judges then ruled in a 2-1 decision upholding a previous order that temporarily blocks the deportations of the migrants.

Boasberg previously ordered planeloads of Venezuelan detainees to return to the United States after they had taken off. That did not take place, however, and since then, Boasberg has asked the administration for further details about the timing of the plane’s departures. Administration officials have refused, claiming “state secret privilege” in declining to provide the judge with more specifics.

  • FILE - Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States deplane at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez, File)
  • Migrants from Afghanistan, Russia and China, who were deported from the U.S., ride an elevator after visiting the Australian Consulate in Panama City, with the hope to start an asylum application process, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
  • Jasmin Ramirez holds a photo of her son, Angelo Escalona, at a government-organized rally protesting the deportation of alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, who were transferred to an El Salvador prison, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Ramirez said she hadn't heard from her son since he called to say he was with a group of migrants about to be deported on March 14. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
  • Migrants who were held in a Panamanian immigration shelter after being deported from the U.S. embraced upon arriving in Panama City on Saturday, March 8, 2025, after authorities gave them 30 days to leave the country. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has asked attorneys for the five Venezuelans who are challenging the administration’s efforts to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to respond to the Justice Department by Tuesday morning.

NewsNation has also learned that Boasberg has set a hearing for Thursday afternoon to examine whether the Trump administration violated his previous court order that bans deportation of the Alien Enemies Act.

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The suspected gunman in a deadly Florida State University mass shooting was kicked out of a political debate club for pushing white supremacist views.

Phoenix Ikner, 20, allegedly used one of his stepmother's guns to kill two people and wound five others in a shooting near the student union on campus in Tallahassee, and court records show he had a tumultuous childhood while a former classmate told NBC News that he expressed right-wing extremist views in a "political round table" club.

"He does have an interesting history," said CNN chief law enforcement analyst John Miller. "We know from court records that CNN unearthed yesterday that he was the subject of a domestic kidnaping incident when he was a child. His biological mother took him out of the country. There was a court fight to get custody back to him. He was brought back to the United States and his adoptive or stepmom, the deputy sheriff, has had him since, and as the sheriff pointed out, he's kind of been enveloped in the law enforcement, extended family."

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"We know he's a political science major," Miller added. "We know he was quoted in the student newspaper talking about a demonstration that the reporter was covering, where she just stopped him and said, what do you think of all this? It was a anti-Donald Trump demonstration. He said, you know, 'these people are a little late, the election happened already, he's being inaugurated on the 20th,' and interestingly, he said, you know, 'short of you know, revolution, we're not going to change that,' and he said, 'no one thinks that's a good idea,' so the statement doesn't really open a definitive door."

A former classmate at both Tallahassee State College and Florida State said Ikner was part of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA chapter at the community college, while voter records show he is a registered Republican, and he described how Ikner's views got him kicked out of a club he led.

"Basically our only rule was no Nazis — colloquially speaking — and he espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric, and far-right rhetoric, as well, to the point where we had to exercise that rule," said Reid Seybold, who was president of that club at Tallahassee State College.

Ikner was also quoted in an FSU student newspaper article on protests against Donald Trump on campus.

“These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons,” said Ikner, who was identified as a political science major. “I think it’s a little too late, he’s already going to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and there’s not really much you can do unless you outright revolt, and I don’t think anyone wants that.”

Ikner was carrying a handgun that had been the service weapon of Leon County sheriff's deputy Jessica Ikner, his stepmother, and he had previously been a member of the sheriff’s Youth Advisory Council, which is designed to “provide an open line of communication between the youth of Leon County and local law enforcement."

Court documents from 2015 show that Ikner was treated for multiple mental and physical health issues as a child and was the subject of a years-long custody battle.

His biological mother, identified as Anne-Mari Eriksen, a U.S.-Norwegian dual national, was charged with taking a minor from the state contrary to a court order after taking him at age 10 from Florida to Norway.

"Instead of staying in South Florida, the defendant allegedly fled the country with him in violation of their custody agreement," the court filing says.

An Instagram account believed to have belonged to Ikner displayed a Bible quote, "Jeremiah 51:20 -‘You are my war club, my weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I destroy kingdoms,'" that serves as the motto for the white nationalist group The Order.

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