Los Angeles, CA- Yesterday, in an anticipated meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele President Donald Trump discussed the ongoing issue of migrant detentions in El Salvador. During the public meeting, President Trump praised the renewed bilateral relationship with Bukele and commended El Salvador for accepting the return of migrant prisoners. 

The two presidents were asked about the case of Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran migrant, and made it clear that they would not facilitate his return—defying both federal and Supreme Court orders. Senator Van Hollen of Maryland has requested a meeting with President Bukele to discuss the release of Kilmar Abrego García. If the meeting is not successful, he has stated that he will travel to El Salvador next week to follow up on the status of the detainee.  

Martha Arevalo, Executive Director of CARECEN-LA has issued the following statement;  

We are appalled and disgusted by the actions taken by this administration and the Salvadoran government, as they continue to play political games with the lives of migrants, tactics that carry life-and-death consequences. Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran migrant who was taken from his family in Maryland in what officials have called an “error,” is now being passed from the Trump administration to President Bukele, who has made it clear he will not facilitate his return.  

Many Venezuelan migrants continue to be deported to El Salvador without any due process, where they face horrific human rights abuses at CECOT. There are already mentions of exploring avenues of even deporting U.S Citizens. As a Central American organization, we are deeply concerned by the growing authoritarian alignment between the Salvadoran and U.S. governments. El Salvador has not yet healed from its conflict-ridden past, and it is now headed in a dangerously troubling direction. We cannot allow the U.S. prison pipeline to be exported to Central America.  

We must pay close attention to the rise of fascism in this country, where no one is safe and advocates are being silenced for speaking out against injustice. We demand the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego García to his family, along with all Venezuelan migrants currently held at CECOT, and an immediate halt to all deportations to El Salvador. All members of Congress and the Senate must take urgent action to investigate the status of deportees sent to El Salvador and demand due process and their release.