After a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week, El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele extended an offer to accept incarcerated immigrants from the U.S., prompting scrutiny as human rights groups recall the cruel circumstances inside El Salvador’s prisons. In President Bukele’s proposition, the U.S. would pay a fee to El Salvador to take in undocumented immigrants from any country and incarcerated U.S. citizens (Al Jazeera). U.S. President Donald Trump has taken swift action against immigration since assuming office, continuing this week as his administration supposedly looks to make President Bukele’s proposition work (Reuters). While experts claim that any attempt by Trump’s administration to take President Bukele’s offer will face significant backlash, a developing relationship between the two leaders has sparked discussions over humanitarian conditions in El Salvador and the worsening immigration crisis in the U.S.
Despite criticism from the international community, Rubio called President Bukele’s offer to house incarcerated individuals from U.S. prisons “an extraordinary offer of friendship” (CNN). Though the U.S. Department of State acknowledges inhumane conditions in El Salvador’s prisons, President Trump expressed eagerness to pursue the deal, stating he’d do so ‘in a heartbeat’ if made legal (Reuters). Mneesha Gellman, a professor at Emerson College, told CNN that the potential deal between Trump and President Bukele “likely violates several international laws relating to the rights of migrants”, joining many scholars who find the arrangement unattainable. Even if President Bukele’s offer never comes to fruition, human rights experts worry about what U.S. cooperation with the El Salvadoran prison system could look like moving forward.
The Trump administration’s willingness to exploit El Salvador’s prison system reflects the severity of the deportation crisis in the U.S. President Trump has issued several executive orders relating to immigration policy since taking office, some of which were immediately blocked by federal judges. Opponents of mass deportation in the U.S. must continue challenging the unconstitutionality of Trump’s immigration policies on a federal level to ensure President Bukele’s offer does not become policy. Additionally, conditions in El Salvador’s prisons necessitate an international response that shows unanimous disapproval of President Bukele’s treatment of incarcerated individuals. The U.S., the World Bank, and other international bodies could offer financial resources to support police forces capable of eliminating gang violence without mass incarceration. Additional funding could guarantee prisoners have access to critical resources like proper living spaces and rehabilitation programs but should be conditional on El Salvador committing to democracy and ending mass human rights abuses.
President Bukele took power in 2019, and has since entrenched his power through autocratic measures. President Bukele has one of the highest domestic approval ratings in the world, in part due to his ability to curb gang violence through mass arrests. While his crackdown might have earned him popularity at home, the international community points to the humanitarian crises incited by Bukele’s approach. Since 2022, CNN reports that President Bukele’s government has made 81,000 arrests, many without sufficient evidence. According to a 2023 report from Amnesty International, a watchdog organization that calls out human rights abuses, President Bukele’s strategy has subjected prisoners to overcrowding, constant deprivation from sunlight, and in most cases, life sentences regardless of charges. Considering the gravity of human rights abuses in El Salvadoran prisons, Trump’s inclination to participate in Bukele’s prison system marks a disturbing shift in U.S. immigration policy.
U.S. support for President Bukele’s prison system sends a powerful message about the strategies that the Trump administration is willing to support in its attack on immigration. Instead of participating in the dehumanization of incarcerated immigrants, the U.S. should be leading the effort to end human rights violations in El Salvador. Even if it is unlikely to materialize, the fact that President Trump finds validity in President Bukele’s offer shows how dangerous the current trajectory of immigration policy is in the U.S. Rather than endorsing President Bukele’s prison system, the U.S. should be pushing for a rules-based approach to immigration reform that prioritizes dignity and prohibits deportation to facilities known for dire humanitarian conditions.
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