Four Salvadoran men deported from the United States 🇺🇸 under a little‑used wartime law are being held without charges in President Nayib Bukele’s vast prison complex, raising fresh questions about how U.S. immigration policy is feeding into El Salvador’s harsh security campaign. The men are among a group sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) after the Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in March 2025 to deport more than 200 people, including 23 Salvadorans, to El Salvador for open‑ended detention.
Deal between the U.S. and El Salvador
According to documents and reporting reviewed by advocacy groups, the deportations formed part of a deal in which the United States agreed to pay $6 million for El Salvador to hold the deportees for one year while officials in Washington decided their long‑term disposition.
- The payment: $6 million for one year of detention.
- The timeframe: deportations executed in March 2025.
- The scope: more than 200 people deported, including 23 Salvadorans.
Many of the detainees were labeled as alleged gang members, but several had only minor criminal records and some — including Salvadorans — had no convictions at all.
U.S. data and detainee profiles
Data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), cited in reports on the deal, show:
| Statistic | Figure |
|---|---|
| Deportees under operation | >200 |
| Salvadorans deported | 23 |
| Salvadorans with criminal convictions | More than half |
| Salvadorans with no criminal record | 18% |
ICE describes its mission and authority on its official site at ice.gov.
Despite those figures, the deportees were flown to CECOT and placed behind bars without formal charges, court hearings, or any clear path to challenge their detention. Human rights lawyers say this turns immigration enforcement into a form of outsourced incarceration.
Divergent outcomes by nationality
While the March 2025 flights affected many nationalities, outcomes have differed:
- Many Venezuelan detainees were repatriated in July 2025 after a prisoner swap (according to reporting cited by advocacy groups).
- By contrast, the Salvadoran deportees are believed to remain inside Bukele’s prison system.
- Four Salvadorans are now identified as being held in CECOT without any charges.
About CECOT
CECOT is a maximum‑security facility that has become a symbol of Bukele’s war on gangs.
- Promoted as a modern “mega‑prison” to hold tens of thousands of suspected gang members.
- Described by rights organizations as a place of near total control: harsh conditions, near‑constant surveillance, and limited contact with lawyers or families.
- For those deported under the Alien Enemies Act, being sent directly to CECOT effectively strips them of both U.S. due process and Salvadoran judicial review simultaneously.
Legal basis: The Alien Enemies Act of 1798
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is an old U.S. law written for wartime situations, allowing the government to detain and remove nationals of countries considered enemies.
- Legal scholars say using it against Salvadoran and Venezuelan migrants — many of whom were in civil immigration detention rather than criminal custody — stretches the statute far beyond its original intent.
- Analysis by VisaVerge.com notes the Trump administration’s reliance on this statute for mass deportations has reopened legal debates dormant for generations.
Human rights and legal concerns
Human rights groups warn that by sending people to a system tied to reports of torture and deaths in custody, the United States risks being linked to possible international crimes. Advocates point to several key concerns:
- Lack of transparency: The Salvadoran government has provided almost no information about the legal status of the deportees, including the four men in CECOT.
- No public records: There have been no recorded charges, no announced court dates, and no clear mechanism for families to obtain information.
- Loss of legal avenues: Many detainees had served criminal sentences or were in civil immigration proceedings; deportation under the Alien Enemies Act cut off immigration court appeals and other legal remedies.
- State of exception: Bukele’s measures permit mass arrests without standard safeguards, increasing risk of rights violations.
“Sending people to a system tied to reports of torture and deaths in custody risks linking the United States to possible international crimes.”
— Human rights advocates (summarized)
Practical impacts on families and legal process
Families of the deported Salvadorans — many of whom had lived for years in the U.S. or had close relatives there — are left in limbo.
- They do not know whether deportees will be released, transferred, returned, or face future actions by U.S. or Salvadoran authorities.
- For the four men in CECOT, basic questions — health status, access to counsel, or whether they have seen a lawyer — remain unanswered in public records.
- Legal advocates on both sides argue this case shows how immigration enforcement combined with national security rhetoric can erode basic rights.
Political and legal consequences
The $6 million payment and the opaque nature of the agreement have generated debate:
- Critics ask whether the arrangement amounts to offshoring U.S. immigration detention to a country with a documented pattern of abuse.
- Legal experts warn that if Washington pays a foreign government to hold people in conditions that would be unlawful in the U.S., it could face legal and political blowback.
- The original deal was not widely discussed at the time; many details emerged only later through investigative reporting and legal filings.
Current status and next steps
U.S. officials have not publicly detailed how they will decide the “long‑term disposition” of the deportees once the one‑year payment period ends.
- Unknown options include: seeking return, leaving them in El Salvador, or negotiating further transfers.
- Advocates continue to press for information through public records requests and demands for explanations from both governments.
As the contract period approaches its end, the outcome will test the limits of how immigration law, counter‑gang policy, and human rights intersect. Possible next developments include quiet extensions, legal challenges, or political controversy — all of which will reveal how far the United States and El Salvador will go in linking immigration enforcement to one of the hemisphere’s most feared prisons.
In March 2025 the U.S. deported over 200 people under the Alien Enemies Act, including 23 Salvadorans, sending some directly to CECOT. Washington paid $6 million for one year of detention while determining long-term disposition. Several deportees had no or minor convictions; four Salvadorans remain held without charges. Human rights groups warn this arrangement could amount to outsourced incarceration, risking links to abuses and prompting legal and political scrutiny over transparency and due process.
