Under American Control – How the U.S. Holds Deported Migrants in a Salvadoran Prison

The truth did not come from Washington, but from the Salvadoran government. Investigations clearly confirm it – and it contradicts everything the Trump regime has publicly claimed so far. In an official response to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, El Salvador admitted that the United States retains control over Venezuelan migrants even after their deportation, migrants who were brought to the maximum-security prison CECOT in Tecoluca. Legally and factually – according to the statement – the responsibility for these men “lies exclusively with the competent foreign authorities.” Meaning: the United States of America. It is a highly explosive statement. Because it contradicts everything that the Department of Homeland Security, the White House, and the Department of Justice have claimed in recent months before courts, the media, and the public: that the deported men were beyond the reach of American jurisdiction, that the U.S. had no more access – and that a return was legally impossible. But now, a UN document confirms what human rights organizations and our investigations had suspected from the beginning: The basis for this statement is an official communication from the Salvadoran government to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), dated June 2025. For the first time, it is now on record what was previously only presumed: The United States retains both factual and legal control over the men in Salvadoran custody even after deportation.

NOTICE OF UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENT

The Petitioners respectfully notify this Court of the attached document from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (“WGEID”): a report on the enforced or involuntary disappearances in four cases involving Venezuelan men who were sent to El Salvador on March 15, 2025 (Ex. 1). The Petitioners provide both the original Spanish-language version and an English-language translation.

As set forth in the attached report, the Government of El Salvador responded to the United Nations’ inquiry regarding the disappearance of these four men as follows:

The Salvadoran state emphatically states that its authorities have not arrested, detained, or transferred the persons referred to in the communications of the Working Group.
The actions of the State of El Salvador have been limited to the implementation of a bilateral cooperation mechanism with another state, through which it has facilitated the use of Salvadoran prison infrastructure for the custody of persons detained within the scope of the justice system and law enforcement of that other state.

In this context, the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters.
In this regard, the actions attributable to the Salvadoran state are limited to its sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction, and therefore it cannot be held responsible for the failure to observe the principle of non-refoulement with respect to the persons mentioned.

Particularly explosive is the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father of three from Maryland, who was arrested by ICE on March 12, 2025, and shortly thereafter flown to the CECOT prison in El Salvador without a court hearing – despite a valid court order prohibiting his deportation. He was only brought back to the U.S. weeks later, after the appeals court repeatedly found constitutional violations by the government. But instead of acknowledging the error, the Department of Justice is now charging him with human smuggling – based on a legally contested criminal proceeding that even Judge Paula Xinis called questionable. Before the trial has even begun, the government has already stated that it plans to “deport him again” when the opportunity arises. In a hearing on July 7, Judge Xinis asked whether the government planned to remove Abrego Garcia “with the same speed” with which it is currently deporting other migrants. DOJ attorney Jonathan Guynn’s answer was clear: If he is released, he will be “removed like any other illegal alien.” When asked, Guynn did not say whether the destination would again be El Salvador – or a “third country.” There is growing evidence that the U.S. is systematically outsourcing legal responsibility to keep migrants beyond the reach of the Constitution. The costs are not only moral. In March, the Trump administration signed an agreement with El Salvador under which the U.S. will pay six million dollars to house up to 300 migrants in the infamous CECOT prison – a place internationally criticized for its brutality, overcrowding, and lack of transparency. The UN speaks of human rights violations, and Human Rights Watch called the facility a “center of arbitrary violence.” Nevertheless, the U.S. government stood by the deal – citing the Alien Enemies Act, an emergency law from 1798 originally intended for the internment of enemies during wartime, now being used for the mass deportation of Venezuelan men broadly classified as “threats.”

The case of Abrego Garcia also shows how arbitrary the criteria are. In an ABC interview, Trump claimed the man had “MS-13 tattoos on his ankles.” In fact, photos show four harmless symbols: a smiley face, a cross, a skull, and a cannabis leaf. The alleged gang symbols had been digitally added to the image – as an “explanation” for viewers, not as evidence. The damage, however, was done. Abrego Garcia was placed in isolation, and his family had no knowledge of his whereabouts for days. Only when his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, recognized him in a photo from the Salvadoran prison did the full extent become clear. This story is not an isolated case. According to court documents, more than one hundred Venezuelan men were deported between March and April – many without any legal process, some even despite ongoing asylum proceedings. The ACLU and the organization Democracy Forward now represent dozens of affected individuals in a lawsuit against the agreement with El Salvador. They argue that the deliberate relocation of migrants outside the reach of American courts is unconstitutional – an attack on the rule of law itself. The government, on the other hand, remains silent. The White House, the Department of Justice, and DHS have not responded to any press inquiries. Officially, they continue to claim there is no way to bring the men back – even though El Salvador has now confirmed the opposite in writing. What remains is a grim picture: A state that circumvents its principles by outsourcing them abroad. And a government that rents prisons to shed responsibility. The affected individuals remain in cells – but they are still in American custody. Only without rights, without a voice, without protection.