US-El Salvador Deportation Pact Sparks Controversy

Published on 4.18.25

The proposal by US President Donald Trump to deport violent US citizens to El Salvador has raised significant concerns about human rights abuses and potential breaches of US law. This move is part of a broader partnership between the two countries, with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele offering to take in US prisoners in exchange for $6 million. The plan would target both naturalized and U.S.-born citizens, with no clear indication of due process before deportation. Civil rights advocates and legal scholars have expressed alarm at this proposal, viewing it as unconstitutional. This is not the first instance of the Trump administration deporting migrants to El Salvador under a rarely used wartime law. The deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly sent back to El Salvador, has sparked a legal crisis. A federal judge ordered the government to facilitate his return, but Trump officials claim he is now solely in Salvadoran custody. The $6 million payment for housing US prisoners in El Salvador's mega-prison has also been criticized as a potential abuse of power and raises concerns about human rights abuses in El Salvador, where migrants are often incarcerated under harsh conditions.

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