The Trump Department of Homeland Security is slamming Reuters for what it is calling "sob story" reporting about illegal gang members after the outlet reported on suspected Tren de Aragua members forming an "S-O-S" sign at a Texas detention center. (Trump-Vance Transition Team/DHS)
According to the outlet, the men at the facility are facing possible deportation and had been set to be deported to the high-security Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador before a judge’s ruling delayed that fate. Despite this, Reuters wrote that the "Venezuelan detainees in Texas fear the Trump administration will send them to El Salvador's notorious CECOT maximum security prison."
The outlet identified two of the migrants in the detention center as Diover Millan Leon, 24, and Jeferson Escalona Hernandez, 19. Reuters interviewed Escalona Hernandez, who claimed, "I fear for my life here" and "they're making false accusations about me."
Reuters also reported Millan Leon’s wife saying, "he is desperate" and that he "sat down and looked at the sky and asked God to get him out of there soon."
DHS pushed back against this characterization of the situation, identifying both men as confirmed members of Tren de Aragua.
17 members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang and members of the MS-13 gang, who were deported to El Salvador by the US in San Salvador, El Salvador on March 31, 2025. (El Salvador Press Presidency Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)
"The previous administration released these gang members into our communities," she went on. "President Trump and Secretary Noem have ended catch and release and will not allow criminal gangs to terrorize American citizens."
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McLaughlin called Reuters’ reporting "irresponsible," asking: "Why do they continue to peddle the sob stories of these gang members but ignore their American victims?"
Fox News Digital reached out to Reuters for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-dhs-slams-more-sob-story-reporting-after-tren-de-aragua-gang-members-send-sos-signal