El Salvador’s President Aligns with Trump on Controversial Deportation Policy

In a recent meeting with President Trump, El Salvador's Nayib Bukele expressed his refusal to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a man deported by U.S. authorities in error, solidifying his support for the Trump administration's deportation initiatives despite ongoing legal challenges.

During a recent discussion with President Trump in the Oval Office, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador announced that he would not facilitate the return of a Salvadoran migrant mistakenly deported from Maryland. This incident, concerning Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, has sparked significant legal contention, culminating in a Supreme Court case based on a federal judge's ruling for his repatriation.

In referencing the deportation, Bukele controversially remarked, “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power.” Critics from Latin America, including Ana María Méndez Dardón, the Central America director for the Washington Office for Latin America, dismissed Bukele’s assertion, arguing that as the leader of a government known for mass arrests and judicial control, he could easily intervene in this matter if he sought to do so.

The Supreme Court's unanimous decision reaffirmed the lower court's order that Garcia should be returned to the U.S., spotlighting Bukele's alignment with the Trump administration’s immigration policies. This strategy suggests that deportees to El Salvador are associated with gang violence and terrorism, thus absolving the U.S. of responsibility once individuals are handed over to a foreign government.

This collaboration between the Trump administration and Bukele signals a continuing pattern whereby the U.S. and El Salvador work in concert on immigration issues, despite the implications for human rights and democratic principles in the region.