El Salvador: News & Updates

The increasing number of asylum seekers arriving at the southern U.S. border, driven by violence, poverty, conflict, and climate crisis, is putting immense strain on border communities. Representative Jesús "Chuy" García of Illinois points out that decades of U.S. military interventions, sanctions, and the failed war on drugs have significantly contributed to this migration, especially from South and Central America. He emphasizes the need for a compassionate response and addressing the root causes of migration. Meanwhile, Fernando García, the executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, highlights the frustrating situation at the border, with repeated crises and inadequate responses. He criticizes the lack of investment in welcoming infrastructure and services for migrants and condemns the political exploitation of the crisis by figures like Governor Greg Abbott of Texas. Both García and García stress the necessity of multilateral cooperation and ending interventionist policies to resolve the ongoing migration challenges.

A leaked intelligence report from El Salvador's National Civil Police reveals that, despite a year and a half of anti-gang operations, approximately 43,000 individuals allegedly linked to gangs remain at large. The report, dated Sept. 1, 2023, shows that 36% of these individuals, totaling 42,826, are yet to be apprehended, with over 20,000 being active gang members. President Nayib Bukele's "state of exception" declaration, which suspended constitutional rights to capture alleged criminals, led to the arrest of 72,000 suspected gang members but also raised concerns about human rights abuses. The report highlights discrepancies in the government's narrative, indicating that many detainees are not high-ranking gang leaders. Rights groups question the government's tactics and the mass trials planned for those still in custody.

In Valle del Sol, El Salvador, once a dangerous red zone controlled by gangs, there has been a significant transformation as the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, who enjoys significant power and control, with his party dominating Congress and the legal system, cracked down on some of the most violent criminal groups. Bukele's tough attitude on gangs has led to a reduction of these criminal organizations, resulting in increased safety and approval ratings of 90 percent. However, the aggressive crackdown has raised a lot of concerns about the rights of individuals who were arrested without explanation. This means that while crime rates have dropped drastically, concerns about human rights abuses and a decline in democratic transparency have emerged.

In this context, the story of Victor Barahona, a community journalist who was detained under inhuman conditions for 11 months on accusations of gang ties, clarifies the complex situation in El Salvador. Barahona's case reflects that individuals who were caught up in the anti-gang crackdown, where arrests often lack clear justification. Despite the positive changes in Valle del Sol, the price paid by many detainees and their families remains a source of concern and debate in Salvadoran society.

In the Cleveland EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review, aka Immigration Court), there has been a significant increase in FY23 in both 1) new deportation proceedings filed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and 2) deportation orders issued by Cleveland EOIR immigration judges.

New Deportation Proceedings Filed in Cleveland

FY22 = 940 average per month

FY 23 = 2,015 average per month

Deportation Orders Issued by Judges in Cleveland

FY22 = 293 average per month

FY23 = 449 average per month

IRTF publishes these numbers in the monthly Migrant Justice newsletter, which can be accessed at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog .

In this monthly newsletter, we highlight the work of Ohio Immigrant Alliance in advocating for the asylum rights of Black Mauritanians.

Black, African and Caribbean migrants seeking safety in the United States have been treated unfairly for decades. They are subject to deportation proceedings at a higher rate than other migrants. They are denied asylum at higher rates. They have higher rates of detention and solitary confinement. All of this is rooted in institutionalized racism.

The racist treatment of Black migrants is very much reflected in Ohio’s sole immigration court (Cleveland) where deportation proceedings against Mauritanians are disproportionately represented. While Cleveland is just one of 69 immigration courts, 18% of all deportation proceedings filed against Mauritanians have been filed in Cleveland this fiscal year (11,623 nationally; 2,146 Ohio).

In the Take Action section, you can learn more about Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s efforts to get DHS (Dept of Homeland Security) to designate TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for Mauritanians. If granted TPS, they would not be placed into deportation proceedings.

Read this monthly newsletter in its entirety at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog.

President Bukele, who imposed a State of Exception in March 2022, says that his iron-fist approach to crime has been successful in dismantling gangs in urban centers. Now he’s moving the crackdown and round-up of suspected gang members to the countryside. In Cabañas, an agricultural department in the north, 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police established a security border surrounding a region larger than New York City to “extract [the gang members] from their hideaways.

Rights groups have been highly critical of the mass arrests carried out under the state of emergency, saying they have led to thousands of people being arbitrarily detained. They have documented the deaths of 174 people in state custody and over 6,400 human rights abuses.

A new law passed this week allows up to 900 alleged gang members to be tried at once. Human rights groups are highly critical because the collective trials will further violate "the rights to an adequate defense, to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence," said Amnesty International Americas director Erika Guevara Rosas. The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) said collective trials would make it "impossible" to guarantee "a fair trial and the right to a defense." Marcela Martino, CEJIL deputy director for Central America and Mexico, told reporters: "This makes us wonder if the government's policy of persecuting the gangs, organized crime, is killing the rule of law and democracy.”

Is this truly about crime or about Bukele’s ambitions to hold onto the presidency? Judge Antonio Durán in the city of Zacatecoluca has been critical of the State of Exception that President Bukele imposed in March 2022: "This is all part of Bukele's campaign for reelection, which is unconstitutional." With a controversial green light from the Constitutional Court, Bukele announced that he will run in elections in February 2024, despite a constitutional ban on successive presidential terms.