Senate Democrats to Demand Transparency from Trump on Deportations to El Salvador
TL/DR –
Senate Democrats plan to force a vote which would require the Trump administration to be more transparent about deportations to El Salvador, particularly following the refusal to return wrongly deported Maryland resident, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. This comes alongside a privileged motion filed by four senators, forcing the State Department to issue a human rights report on El Salvador. The motion, filed under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, asks whether El Salvador is taking steps to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling, and will go to the Senate for a vote within ten days.
Senate Democrats will force a vote to improve transparency on Trump administration’s deportations to El Salvador, following alleged human rights violations. The move is prompted by the administration’s refusal to return wrongly deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Senators Tim Kaine, D-Va., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. proposed the motion. Van Hollen recently visited El Salvador, meeting Abrego Garcia who remains in a Salvadoran prison even after unsuccessful negotiations for his release.
The motion, seeking Senate’s vote within 10 calendar days, questions El Salvador’s cooperation in facilitating compliance with a Supreme Court ruling. It could potentially halt all U.S. security assistance to El Salvador.
Kaine admitted that the Republican-controlled Senate might not vote in favor. “If Americans are being sent to El Salvador, we should all want to get a human rights report to see whether this nation is following the rule of law or not,” he said.
Reactions from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department are yet to be received.
Van Hollen criticized the Trump administration’s $15 million deal to El Salvador to detain US deportees, calling it a “cash-for-collusion” act. He referenced a 2023 State Department report, highlighting torture incidents in El Salvador prisons. He accused Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele of colluding with Trump, causing due process violations for people living in America.
—
Read More US Political News