People Keep Getting Killed in El Salvador After They're Deported From the U.S.
At least 138 people deported from the U.S. have been subsequently murdered in El Salvador.
By Paul Blest
At least 138 people deported from the United States to El Salvador since 2013 have subsequently been murdered, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday.
Over 200,000 people were deported from the United States and Mexico to El Salvador between 2014 and 2018, according to the report. And although the level of violence due to gang activity has resulted in asylum recognition rates as high as 75 percent in other Central American countries, the U.S. granted asylum to just 18 percent of El Salvadorans who applied for it from 2014 to 2018, the report said.
In addition to the 138 confirmed cases of murder, the report also identified over 70 cases in which deportees were “subjected to sexual violence, torture, and other harm,” or who simply went missing when they returned to the country. Human Rights Watch stressed there was no official tally of those killed or injured, however, and said that the actual casualty toll is “likely greater.”
“U.S. authorities have knowingly put Salvadorans in harm’s way by sending them to face murder and attacks on their safety,” HRW’s Alison Parker, a co-author of the report, said in a statement. “Salvadorans are facing murder, rape, and other violence after deportation in shockingly high numbers, while the U.S. government narrows Salvadorans’ access to asylum and turns a blind eye to the deadly results of its callous policies.”
El Salvador has had some of the highest homicide rates in the world in recent years, although the Central American nation saw a promising drop in 2019. Much of the violence is the result of gang activity, on behalf of groups such as MS-13 and Barrio 18.
HRW estimates that of the 1.2 million Salvadorans currently living in the United States, as many as three-quarters are undocumented or have a just temporary authorization to live here.
The Trump administration previously tried to end Salvadorans’ participation in the program, and in 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions ruled out domestic abuse and gang violence as legitimate causes to grant asylum.
Last year, the U.S. and El Salvador signed an agreement in which the U.S. vowed to help El Salvador improve its security and anti-gang efforts in exchange for requiring asylum seekers passing through El Salvador to seek asylum in that country first. As part of the deal, the U.S. also extended the temporary protected status of Salvadorans through the end of 2020.
The HRW recommended that the Trump administration reverse some of its most far-reaching immigration restrictions, such as the Migration Protection Protocols, the “asylum bans,” and the aforementioned Asylum Cooperation Agreements, which were also signed with Guatemala and Honduras.
The group also urged Congress to make protections for TPS and DACA recipients permanent, and to freeze funding for DHS, ICE, and CBP “unless and until abusive policies and practices that separate families, employ unnecessary detention, violate due process rights, and violate the right to seek asylum are stopped.”
“Instead of closing the door to the thousands of Salvadorans fleeing their homeland, the United States should provide them with full and fair asylum procedures and dignified treatment,” Parker said. “Before deporting Salvadorans, U.S. authorities should take into account the extraordinary risks of harm they may face upon return.”
I find it disgusting that many Americans look down on immigrants who come to the US seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Also, why would you lead thousands to their death when you know that the country they are being sent to is known for violence against the innocent.
ReplyDeleteI agree, people immigrant to the US for a reason. No one willing leaves behind the only thing they've ever known if they weren't in serious danger. The fact the US is completely ignoring how all these people are being murdered after being deported is horrendous.
Deleteposing for Xiomara: The got should be taking more extreme measures when it comes to people seeking a safe place where security and support is given to those running from a place where violence happens everyday. the govt of El Salvador is corrupt which why people seek a place like the united states for a better chance at life
ReplyDeleteI agree. These people come looking for better lives and they end up just being killed when they havent done anything wrong either.
DeleteThe deportation of immigrants is complicated.There are so many different factors playing into the deportations like separating children from mothers. IT is crtazy that so many people come in search of a better life, but end up sent back to the poor living conditions they started in, or even worse, death.
ReplyDeleteThe separation of families is the most atrocious part; not only are they sending immigrants home, possibly to their deaths, but they're splitting people apart to fend for themselves. This treatment of people that just want a better life is cruel.
DeleteHow the US handles immigration is very controversial, but has no correct solution either. As a Salvadorian, I'm very sad to see this, but my unbiased opinion is this: The US has no obligation to help illegal immigrants, but could probably handle the security process of deportation better.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the US is not forced to help immigrants, but the places that these people are getting sent back to is cruel. Many seek asylum in the US from numerous issues and sending them back to their home country can be a death sentence.
DeleteI agree that it is not the U.S duty to let in illegal immigrants but its just sad to see that these people are running from serious problems and they just get pushed away by the U.S gov.
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ReplyDeleteI feel like the people that disagree with immigrants coming into this country in search of new opportunities, and safety are usually those that are uneducated, or just hippocrates because their ancestors arrived the same way. These people are being casted out only to suffer for wanting a better future for themselves and their kids, the U.S. the land of the free or does that only apply to who they chose is worth having this freedom?
ReplyDeleteSometimes, it feels like people in the U.S. look at immigrants like a statistic, rather than real, suffering people who are just trying to escape the dangers of their home countries. Immigrants come here for a new life, yet we treat them as though they are the criminals they're trying to escape.
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