Salvadorans at risk of deportation face danger of arbitrary arrest, disappearance under the State of Exception

In March 2025, El Salvador’s prisons came under international scrutiny when the Trump administration paid the Bukele government to jail 252 Venezuelans and dozens of Salvadorans in its torturous CECOT megaprison under the terms of a secretive bilateral agreement. Recently, a Human Rights Watch report on the plight of Salvadorans who were deported in 2025 and remain incarcerated, including some who were deported under the agreement, also received important media coverage.

This fact sheet covers the longer context of four years under a State of Exception in El Salvador and the risks this has posed to deported Salvadoran immigrants and asylum seekers, even prior to the Trump administration.

Footnote links:

1. Human Rights Watch, “US/El Salvador: Deportees Forcibly Disappeared” (2026)
2. Group of Experts for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations under the State of Exception in El Salvador (GIPES), “El Salvador at the Crossroads: Crimes against Humanity under the Public Security Policy” (2026)
3. National Catholic Review, “Salvadorans worry as US deportations collide with El Salvador's gang crackdown” (2025)
4. MOVIR testimony given on November 2024, bit.ly/movirvideo
5. Izcanal Facebook, “Capturan a joven deportado desde EE. UU. y permanece preso desde 2023 sin acusación formal”, bit.ly/izcanal (2026)
6. El Faro, “Deported from Texas to the Salvadoran Regime’s Prisons” (2024)
7. Los Angeles Times, "Bajo el régimen de excepción, a los deportados les espera un futuro incierto en El Salvador" (2025)
8. Cristosal, “El silencio no es opción” (2024)
9. Dr. Sarah Bishop, “Processing, Treatment and Incarceration of Incarcerated Men in El Salvador Under the State of Exception”, (2026)

Additional links:

1. NPR, "Human rights groups raise alarm over fate of Salvadorans deported from U.S." (2026)
2. MOVIR testimony shared via Facebook on June 1, 2026.

Resources for people deported to El Salvador:

1. Education Justice Project, A New Path: A Guide to the Challenges & Opportunities After Deportation (El Salvador section starts on page 174).
2. Participate in important anonymous research study to help better understand the needs and experiences of people deported to El Salvador here. Participants are eligible for a $100 stipend.