Kaine, Van Hollen, Schumer & Padilla to Force Senate Vote Demanding Answers on Trump Administration’s Compliance with Court Orders and El Salvador’s Horrific Human Rights Record
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the lead Democrat on SFRC’s Western Hemisphere panel, together with U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), introduced legislation to require the Trump Administration to produce a report detailing any steps the Administration is taking to ensure compliance with court orders applicable to U.S. citizens or residents wrongfully deported by the U.S. to El Salvador; confirming whether U.S. security assistance has been used to support the illegal detention of U.S. residents; and assessing El Salvador’s human rights record. Companion legislation is being led in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20).
Under the legislation, if the Administration fails to produce the report, security assistance to El Salvador would be prohibited by federal law. The legislation is privileged under the Foreign Assistance Act, meaning the Senate will be forced to vote on the measure.
“Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has rounded up tens of thousands of Salvadorans without due process and jammed them indefinitely into overpopulated torture centers. And now he’s trying to do the same to people living in the United States. President Trump is even threatening to send U.S. citizens to these same horrific megaprisons,” said Senator Kaine. “This is a violation of the founding principles of the United States. That’s why I’m forcing a vote on legislation to require this Administration to explain its actions to the American public and shine a bright light on the Bukele regime’s human rights abuses, instead of celebrating them.”
“Following the ruling of our federal courts that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was illegally deported, the Trump Administration is clearly refusing to comply with their orders to facilitate his return. This legislation would require the Trump Administration to report on the actions they’ve taken in response to the court orders, the Government of El Salvador’s collusion with the Trump Administration to violate due process rights, and the broader human rights concerns in El Salvador. The American people deserve answers on this clear defiance of our nation’s constitutional rights and the extent of El Salvador’s complicity in this scheme, as well its human rights abuses,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“The cornerstone of American democracy is due process. The Trump administration has taken a sledgehammer to the very basis of our legal system and the rights Americans have as citizens,” said Leader Schumer. “Make no mistake: A threat to one is a threat to all. The courts have spoken and now the Senate needs to ensure that the Trump administration is listening. Senate Democrats will not rest until we have answers.”
“El Salvador’s ongoing human rights abuses against detainees at CECOT — including individuals removed from the United States to be detained at the mega-prison — must cease immediately,” said Senator Padilla. “As the Trump Administration upends due process to wrongfully deport people to El Salvador, we must restore fundamental civil liberties, end the inhumane treatment of all detainees, and ensure freedom from oppression for everyone in El Salvador. I stand with Senator Kaine and my colleagues in fighting to hold President Bukele and President Trump accountable over the corrosion of civil liberties and due process in El Salvador being supported by the United States. I also continue to call for the immediate return of those wrongfully deported to El Salvador.”
“The Trump Administration has sent numerous people to Salvadoran gulags using a wartime authority and without due process,” said Representative Joaquin Castro. “El Salvador, under President Bukele, has engaged in well-documented human rights abuses. This resolution demands that the Trump Administration provide documentation of the human rights conditions in El Salvador. If they don’t do so, the law would cut off all security assistance to the country—we will use this resolution to force accountability.”
Full text of the legislation is available here.
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