The Salvadoran government is combinedly attempting to fight back upon gang violence. They are furthering their partnership with the US by providing intelligence on suspected gang members. This first-time initiative comes after significant public outcry cast a spotlight on the deportation of people based on association with gang ties. Perhaps the most remarkable example is Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland-based sheet metal worker. Salvadoran authorities maintain precise lists of people suspected to have gangs. They rely on the gang designation to petition for the deportation of those they claim have ties to gangs such as MS-13.
Until last year, the country’s prisons director had only estimated between 10,000 and 20,000 prisoners held in El Salvador’s jails. This figure is over 5,000 inmates fewer than their capacity of 40,000 inmates. Despite encouraging news all around, the U.S. government has recently announced the largest spike in the U.S. prison boom. This increase comes only half a year after the previous measure. The maximum-security Cecot prison—where Abrego Garcia remains in custody—is home to both convicted felons and pretrial defendants.
Garcia Abrego was accused by the Trump administration of having ties to MS-13. But both his attorneys and family adamantly deny these accusations against him. They further noted that the administration of El Salvador has yet to provide any clear proof. Yet their claims are still not backed up. In its advocacy, Garcia Abrego’s defense team claimed,
“In the absence of transparency or due process for Kilmar, such vague accusations should not carry weight, especially when they contradict a US immigration judge’s determination that he was credible and warranted protection from removal to El Salvador.”
The Salvadoran government has maintained extensive dossiers on suspected gang members for over a decade. These datasets contain extensive information on people thought to live within the US and abroad. Before requesting these deportations, El Salvador must furnish what it calls “full records” for these gang members. The government subsequently screens each deportation flight arriving from the US, checking passenger names against its massive gang database.
The Herald reported that the US has deported at least 279 people back to El Salvador in recent months. Authorities associated these individuals with gangs such as the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua and charged them with connections to MS-13. This influx has raised questions about the criteria used for deportation and the validity of the allegations made against these individuals.
Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Public Security, emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring that only genuine gang members face incarceration. He stated,
“We checked all of them. And if we found someone who we are very sure that he is a member of any gang in El Salvador, we capture them and put them in jail.”
He went on to emphasize the role of criminal records in these assessments, saying,
“You can say, ‘I’m not a member’ — OK, but what happened with your criminal record?”
This hard line has resulted in greater uproar over specific cases such as that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. His removal from the US can be challenged because it happened on what his legal team calls an “administrative error.” They claim that at best, unfounded allegations are being used to justify carrying out a deportation which had already breached several standing court orders.
Abrego Garcia’s counsel expressed extreme dismay at the due process violation in his case. They stated,
“The government of El Salvador has not provided any convictions or substantiated evidence to support its claims, and it is deeply concerning that these unverified allegations are being used to retroactively justify a deportation that violated court orders.”
