Ongoing Litigation Is Exposing Administration’s Secret Dealings
Washington, D.C. – A number of recent developments in the Trump-Vance administration’s ongoing attempts to operate behind closed doors to disappear people from the country without due process demonstrate the power of people and litigation. After sustained legal engagement by Democracy Forward and our partners, news reports and statements from the administration suggest that Americans and permanent U.S. residents detained in Venezuela were traded for more than 250 Venezuelans expelled from the U.S. and imprisoned in El Salvador.
“As we mark the first six months of the Trump-Vance administration, one trend has become clear: the courts are a frontline in the fight for our democracy. When people and communities have access to the courts and due process, the administration is being forced to reckon with their lawlessness and the courts are shining a light on their backroom deals,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “These developments are not coincidental—they are the result of persistent, strategic legal work by our team at Democracy Forward and our partners to uncover the truth and stop abuses of power. Cases are shedding light on unlawful conduct the administration hoped would remain hidden, and we are not done. We will continue to hold the Trump-Vance administration accountable for its attempts to dismantle transparency, evade the law, and engage with unlawful, extreme agendas.”
In addition to our ongoing litigation with the ACLU and ACLU of DC – J.G.G. v. Trump – which challenges the President’s invocation of the wartime Alien Enemies Act during peacetime to disappear people indefinitely from U.S. territory into El Salvador’s prison system without due process, legal justification, or public accountability, Democracy Forward and our partners have taken critical additional legal actions to force transparency and accountability:
- In May, Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit against the Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security to compel the production of documents related to the administration’s initial agreement with the government of El Salvador that has allowed hundreds of people to be sent from the United States to be held in prison in El Salvador. Last week, the State Department quietly uploaded a portion of the document to their website (under May 2025)
- In June, we filed a first-of-its kind case alongside Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights challenging the legality of the U.S. State Department’s backdoor agreement with El Salvador on behalf of immigrant rights organizations and criminal defense lawyers. That litigation remains pending.
- And this month, we filed newly revealed documents in J.G.G. v. Trump that show that the administration misled both the courts and the public about its authority over the individuals who were removed from the country and sent to El Salvador. Contrary to the administration’s claims, El Salvador submitted a document to the United Nations stating that the U.S. government remains responsible for the detainees.
###
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.