00:00Andrea Mitchell.
00:01Hi.
00:02Thank you so much, Tammy.
00:04The President acknowledged today that if there are mistakes that were made in taking some
00:10of the people to El Salvador, in the identifications of people, that they will be corrected.
00:16What are the efforts or the obligation of the State Department to follow up some of
00:21the complaints from families that their relatives were taken and are not gang members and are
00:27not, do not have a violent history, to follow up with El Salvador?
00:31What rights do people have once they are taken to El Salvador and they're in that prison
00:37under human rights and under State Department procedures when they are taken under the rubric
00:45of national security?
00:46Well, a few things, of course.
00:48I don't speak for the White House or the President.
00:51He had some great comments to make earlier today, as you know, as you're referencing.
00:56And I think his comments speak for themselves.
00:58I also can't speak about the individuals who have been transported or legal mechanisms
01:05or diplomatic mechanisms regarding their status.
01:09But what I can say is that our relationship with President Bukele is excellent, that this
01:13isn't a situation where there's no communication or a relationship that doesn't continue on
01:19with El Salvador or the President.
01:21And of course, this is an issue that we also continue to focus on.
01:25So that, I can tell you, is if the President mentioned it, I think that sends a signal,
01:30if not more so, about his commitment and the nature of what he knows and what he says he's
01:35going to do about it.
01:36And that's where we're going to leave it.
01:37Well, let me just follow up, because the video, certainly, that was taken by El Salvador showed
01:41some harsh treatment.
01:43Does the U.S. feel any obligation in terms of human rights or legal authority when people
01:51are taken to another country, to a prison, to follow up on what the conditions are in
01:55which they're being held?
01:56Well, again, that is also DHS.
01:59It's not the State Department's purview in that kind of framework.
02:03Even the removing of people from the country is not the State Department's purview.
02:07That's a question for the DHS, but it's certainly not something I can even speculate on or I'm
02:14not going to speak on the nature of El Salvador's process and how it handles the nature of the
02:19people that they repatriated.
02:20It was taken under the authority of the Secretary of State.
02:24And that was implemented by the Department of Homeland Security.
02:26So yes.
02:27All right.
02:28Now, Jen?
02:29Yes.
Comments