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Fox keeps calling migrants sent to El Salvador prison “criminals” and “terrorists” despite reporting that several deportees were likely falsely accused

Fox personalities also praised the CECOT prison as “hard-core” and “a scene out of a Mad Max movie”

Written by Chloe Simon

Published

President Donald Trump has deported at least 261 migrants to the CECOT prison in El Salvador, alleging that many of them are connected to the gang Tren de Aragua. However, the lack of due process for these deportees and the flimsy evidence of gang affiliation has raised serious concerns. Many family members of those who were deported to the prison have claimed that their relative has no criminal background and their tattoos were unrelated to any gang. 

But Fox News and Fox Business personalities and guests have continued to claim that those in the prison are “terrorists,” the “worst of the worst,” and “criminal aliens.” In one instance, after co-host Jessica Tarlov mentioned the “numerous examples” of people reportedly without criminal histories getting deported, co-hosts Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld attacked her for “showing more sympathy to these illegal alien gangbangers than you showed to American citizens.” Some Fox figures have also celebrated the conditions at CECOT, calling it “hard-core” and comparing the prison to “a scene out of a Mad Max movie.” 

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  • Trump has deported at least 261 migrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison

    • The Trump administration has deported over 260 individuals to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT, invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and alleging without clear evidence that deportees are members of Tren de Aragua and other gangs. According to ICE's “Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide” published by the ACLU, “having a tattoo an ICE officer says is a ‘gang tattoo’ and “displaying ‘logos,’ ‘symbols’ or clothes an ICE officer says are gang signs” are reasons for deportation to the prison. Mother Jones noted, “Robert Cerna, an acting field office director for ICE’s removal operations branch, said the agency ‘did not simply rely on social media posts, photographs of the alien displaying gang-related hand gestures, or tattoos alone.’ But Cerna also acknowledged that many of the Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act had no criminal history in the United States.” CNN has also reported that some of the tattoos used to identify TdA members are common, including “stars on the shoulder, royal crowns, firearms, trains, dice, roses, tigers and jaguars.” [The Associated Press, 3/21/25; CNN, 3/17/25, 3/25/25; Mother Jones, 3/26/25, Bluesky, 3/30/25] 
    • Critics of Trump’s policy have argued that he violated the deportees’ rights to due process, as many were removed without proper hearings or substantial evidence. A federal appeals court upheld a district judge’s March 15 order blocking the administration's attempt to continue these deportations, emphasizing the necessity for individuals to have the opportunity to contest their alleged gang affiliations. In response to concerns over due process, Trump “border czar” Tom Homan said, “What were all these young women that were killed and raped by members of (Tren de Aragua) – what was their due process?” Fox News hosts have also defended the Trump administration’s denial of due process for migrants, with Brian Kilmeade arguing that it’s “not practical” to give them due process and Lawrence Jones claiming the U.S. should “revisit” the rights of migrants. [The Associated Press, 3/26/25, 3/25/25; CNN, 3/25/25; Media Matters, 3/28/25] 

  • Reporting indicates that some migrants deported to the CECOT prison have no criminal history

    • Mother Jones published a comprehensive piece detailing several migrants deported to CECOT prison whose families have emphatically denied their connection to any gang activity. The families of Arturo Suárez Trejo, Neri Alvarado Borges, and Frizgeralth de Jesus Cornejo Pulgar have contended that they were detained and deported by ICE for having tattoos. Their families have denied that these mens’ tattoos, which include a rose and an autism awareness ribbon, are in any way related to gang membership. [Mother Jones, 3/26/25] 
    • Forbes has reported that Andry, another Venezuelan migrant seeking asylum in the U.S., “was wrongly identified as a gang member and deported to El Salvador.” Andry’s lawyer Lindsay Toczylowski stated that her client, whose full name was withheld “due to safety precautions,” had “no criminal history.” [Forbes, 3/25/25] 
    • CBS News reported asylum-seeker Franco José Caraballo Tiapa was “unexpectedly detained” at a routine ICE check-in and later appeared on a list of those deported to CECOT. According to CBS News, “A document from the Department of Homeland Security shows Caraballo is accused of being a member of the criminal gang Tren de Aragua but also specifies that he has no criminal history in the U.S. Venezuelan officials said he has no record there either.” [CBS News, 3/20/25] 
    • NPR identified at least four families who say their relatives were deported to CECOT without a criminal history. NPR reported that “none of them had a serious criminal record in the U.S” and “three of the four are believed to have signed their voluntary departure orders, a move that would in theory allow them to come to the U.S. at a later time if approved,” adding that “the U.S. government has not provided a list of names, evidence of crimes or affiliation to Tren de Aragua.” [NPR, 3/21/25] 
    • Reuters wrote that Andres Guillermo Morales, who is currently being held in CECOT, does not have a criminal background. Morales, who had a “legal work permit in the United States,” has some tattoos such as his parents’ names and a Bible verse. His wife denied that there is gang affiliation behind them and he reportedly does not have any history of criminal activity. [Reuters, 3/21/25] 
    • Miami New Times reported that Luis Carlos José Marcano Silva has been deported to CECOT despite his family insisting “that he has no affiliation whatsoever with the violent gang” and was in the process of seeking asylum. Silva has several tattoos including a crown, which his family claims he got as a matching tattoo with an ex-girlfriend as a teenager. Law enforcement officials have included a crown on the list of tattoos used to identify TdA members. [Miami New Times, 3/25/25] 
    • On Monday, the Trump administration admitted in a court filing that it had mistakenly included Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in a group of migrants deported to CECOT prison due to an “administrative error.” The filing called the inclusion of Abrego Garcia an “oversight” that was “carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order of removal and Abrego-Garcia’s purported membership in MS-13.” The administration also argued it could not return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. because he is currently in Salvadoran custody. Abrego Garcia, whose attorneys have flatly denied that their client has any involvement with the MS-13 gang, had been “granted protected status by an immigration judge” in 2019. [CNN, 4/1/25]

  • Fox has persisted in implying all CECOT deportees are “criminals” and terrorists”

    • Fox host Jesse Watters argued that co-host Jessica Tarlov was “showing more sympathy to these illegal alien gangbangers than you showed to American citizens” when she made the point that there are “numerous cases confirmed of people in that megaprison who should not be.” Co-host Greg Gutfeld also claimed, “There are people who will always argue on behalf of the criminal element, but they will be the first to cross the street if they see them come their way. … If one of these liberals were ever to run into one of these thugs, they would have a literal bleeding heart.” [Fox News, The Five, 3/28/25] 
    • Fox contributor Lisa Kennedy Montgomery said “don’t assume that these are the hardworking janitors and DoorDash drivers who are coming here for a better life.” Montgomery said the deportees are “people who want to hurt, maim, and kill innocent Americans.” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 3/19/25]
    • Fox News reporter Griff Jenkins referred to the migrants deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison as “criminal aliens.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 3/27/25] 
    • Fox News reporter Lucas Tomlinson: “The D.C. Court of Appeals upheld Judge Boasberg's decision to block the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/27/25] 
    • Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt: “You can watch other networks and they interview their wives, and their wives are crying and saying the little kids are looking for daddy, and that does break your heart. But if daddy is a member of a gang and the president and the administration say that these flights were full of alleged gang members, then daddy has to leave the country.” Earhardt also claimed, “That happens all the time in our own country. Families are broken up because daddy did something wrong.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/21/25] 
    • Anchor Sandra Smith called those getting deported to El Salvador a “case of the worst of the worst that they have sent out of this country.” Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade dismissed “accusations that some nice soccer players are in the mix there because they just have a little bit controversial tattoos,” telling viewers that “Tom Homan has pushed back on that, so have others, and we want to get more flights out there.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/26/25] 
    • After anchor Bill Hemmer asked whether “there are individuals who are not members of TdA” on the deportation flights, former Denver ICE field office director John Fabbricatore claimed that “some criminals were claiming to be TdA and committing crimes inside the U.S. using the TdA name to spread terror, and they are just as bad as the real TdA members.” Fabbricatore continued, “They are just as much terrorists as those who were truly TdA members.” [Fox News, The Story, 3/24/25]
    • Fox contributor Liz Peek said “kudos to the Trump administration for carrying out this deportation,” calling the prisoners the “worst of the worst.” Host Maria Bartiromo said, “Imagine those planes flying there out of the U.S., going to El Salvador, jam-packed with all of these terrorist-like people,” adding, “These are the people who went on mopeds and started stealing people’s bags throughout New York City.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 3/17/25] 

  • CECOT has a reputation for inhumane treatment and violence

    • Migrants deported to CECOT face inhumane conditions, including being confined to overcrowded cells for 23 1/2 hours a day. Upon arrival, deportees were immediately subjected to harsh treatment, including being forced to kneel while shackled and being forcibly shaved. Inmates reportedly sleep on metal bunks without mattresses or pillows, have inadequate access to food and health care, and are allowed to leave their cell for only 30 minutes per day. [Mother Jones, 3/26/25; USA Today, 3/22/25; Human Rights Center, 3/25/25]
    • ​Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently visited the prison and recorded a video in front of a crowded cell, warning that migrants who are deported from the U.S. could get jailed there. Her visit drew criticism from human rights organizations, which labeled the visit as “political theater” and accused the administration of using fear tactics against immigrant communities. [The Guardian, 3/27/25; The New York Times, 3/28/25] 

  • Some Fox News figures have celebrated conditions at CECOT, calling it “hard-core” and “a scene out of a Mad Max movie”

    • Jesse Watters praised Noem for showing how “hard-core this El Salvador megaprison really is.” Watters also claimed “you can see some nasty looking gangbangers lined up against the wall.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 3/26/25]
    • Speaking with Trump “border czar” Tom Homan, Fox News anchor John Roberts described the CECOT prison as something that “looks like a scene out of a Mad Max movie.” [Fox News, America Reports, 3/27/25] 
    • Fox News host Brian Kilmeade mocked the living conditions of CECOT, saying, “I never knew they had four levels of bunk beds. How do they do that? IKEA doesn't offer that.” Kilmeade then claimed he would “rather get the death penalty” than be incarcerated at CECOT because “it looks like horrendous living.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/28/25]