If the #State Dept “*believes* those assurances to be *credible*,” then #ICE may deport someone to that country “without the need for further procedures,” he wrote in the memo, obtained by WaPo.

The #US has rarely deported people to countries where they are not #citizens, & lawyers warned that thousands of longtime #immigrants w/ work permits & families in the US could now be uprooted & sent to places where they lack family ties or even a common language.

“President #Trump & Secretary of #State #Rubio are once again making America less safe & less secure,”Sen #TimKaine (D-VA) said in a statement.
“This is one of the most ridiculous decisions that could possibly be made at a time when #China is increasing its diplomatic footprint around the world & establishing an overseas network of #military & #transportation bases, #Russia is continuing its years-long brutal assault of a #sovereign country, & the #MiddleEast is careening from crisis to crisis.”

The total reduction in the workforce [#RIF] will be ~3k, including the *voluntary* departures, acc/to the notice & a senior #State Dept ofcl, out of the 18k employees based in the #US.

The move is the first step of a restructuring that #Trump has sought to ensure US #ForeignPolicy is aligned with his "America First" agenda. Fmr diplomats & experts say the firing of #ForeignService officers risks America's ability to counter the growing assertiveness from adversaries such as #China & #Russia.

At the same time, negotiations were intensifying over a deal in which the #US would secure greater access to #Congo #minerals in return for help defending the country from #Rwanda backed #insurgents rampaging across its eastern provinces.

To get the ball rolling, Kahana met w/ #State Dept ofcls in DC in March. The ofcls thought it worth empowering a team led by Kahana to discuss US *diplomatic* goals & the release of the 3 Americans w/ #Tshisekedi, the businessman & the State Dept said.

Reuters pieced together the course of events by speaking to the 3 Americans on the trip, a #State Dept ofcl involved in the initiative, & 2 people the trio met during their brief stay in #Congo's capital Kinshasa.

The story of the ill-fated venture, which has not previously been reported, provides a glimpse of how the #Trump admin…works through *unconventional* channels in pursuit of *deals* to bring Americans home….

@Nonilex
"In April, #Trump’s #State Dept upgraded #ElSalvador’s travel advisory to its highest rating, citing a “drop in violent crimes & murders.”
The upgrade came two months after this meeting, which looks like a caricature of politicians doing a corrupt deal.

@Nonilex The “funny” thing about #State giving #ElSalvador the safest rating (“level 1”) is that the detailed description reads much more like it does for dangerous countries (probably level 2-3).

For reference, Canada is level 1, many “safe” countries in the EU and Central America are level 2, Nicaragua is level 3, and North Korea, Syria, and Sudan are level 4 “do not travel.”

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/ElSalvador.html (expand the “safety and security” section)

In recent months, #Bukele’s government has cracked down further on #CivilLiberties, targeting civil society groups, arresting critics & pushing some prominent journalists to flee.

And while the #EU condemned a new #law giving his govt broad powers to silence dissidents, the US govt stayed quiet.

Instead, the #State Dept certified in April that #ElSalvador was protecting #FreedomOfThePress & strengthening the rule of law.

In April, #Trump’s #State Dept upgraded #ElSalvador’s travel advisory to its highest rating, citing a “drop in violent crimes & murders.”

While #crime has improved, El Salvador jumped to the #UnitedStates’ safest level, ahead of countries like France or Spain, whose rates of violent crime are the same or lower.

The new rating reflects a dramatic turnaround for a country that once had a soaring homicide rate & “significant #HumanRights issues,” acc/to the State Dept in 2023.