The image of Kilmar Ábrego García, locked up in a notoriously harsh prison in El Salvador, has become a symbol of an increasingly controversial immigration policy. His case — a wrongful deportation carried out by the Trump administration despite a standing court order — has triggered a constitutional standoff in the United States and drawn attention to an international alliance that is raising alarms among human rights defenders.

Ábrego García, 29, had been granted legal protection from deportation in 2019 by a U.S. immigration judge, who concluded that returning him to El Salvador would put him at risk. Yet on March 15, he was expelled along with more than 250 other migrants — most of them Venezuelan — and sent to the Center for Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), a high-security megaprison built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to house alleged gang members.

The Trump administration later admitted that his deportation was an “administrative error,” but also accused Ábrego — without presenting evidence — of belonging to MS-13, a gang that Washington classifies as a terrorist organization.

At a hearing this Tuesday in Maryland, Judge Paula Xinis sharply criticized the government. “To date nothing has been done,” she told a Justice Department lawyer, according to The New York Times. The newspaper also reported that Judge Xinis found the deportation had exposed Ábrego to harm that “shocks the conscience.”

Despite rulings from three courts, including the Supreme Court, directing the administration to “facilitate” his return, Trump officials have adopted a passive interpretation, saying they would allow him back “if he presents himself at a port of entry” — but doing nothing to actually secure his release. Judge Xinis has authorized Ábrego’s lawyers to depose officials and request documents on the decision to detain him.

Trump and Bukele: an unchecked alliance

The recent meeting between Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele at the White House cemented a partnership that goes well beyond diplomacy. During the meeting, Trump even floated the idea of sending U.S. citizens convicted of violent crimes to Salvadoran prisons like CECOT. “I would love to do it,” he said in an interview with Fox News.

Bukele, for his part, distanced himself from Ábrego’s case, claiming he had “no power” to send him back to the U.S. Nonetheless, he proudly announced that El Salvador would be joining the Global Entry program, allowing faster entry for Salvadorans with visas.

Their mutual support was unequivocal. “You’re helping us. We appreciate it,” Trump said. Bukele replied, “We are very eager to help.”

Human rights activists were alarmed. “What is being created here is Guantánamo on steroids (…) a black hole where the law offers no protection,” warned Juan Pappier, Deputy Americas Director at Human Rights Watch, in an interview with AFP.

CECOT: A prison for the deported

CECOT, the largest prison in Latin America, was built to contain Salvadoran gang members. But today it also holds hundreds of deported migrants, including Venezuelans and Salvadorans, under strict isolation and without visitation rights, according to AFP and testimonies collected by HRW.

“Washington is sending migrants to El Salvador just for being tattooed,” said Ricardo Rosales, a Salvadoran transport worker, in an interview with AFP. The case of Andry Hernández Romero — accused of being a gang member because of his tattoos — was highlighted by his mother, who insisted he “is unjustly imprisoned.”

Experts argue that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua does not use tattoos as identifiers, casting further doubt on these accusations. HRW has denounced the detentions as “entirely arbitrary and potentially indefinite.”

A totalitarian strategy

The Trump administration has justified these mass deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law previously unused in immigration enforcement. According to AFP, the first flight carrying more than 200 migrants cost the U.S. government six million dollars.

Ábrego García’s case may now pose a legal bombshell. A federal appeals court likened his deportation to “official kidnapping,” warning that the administration's posture could lead to “a path of perfect lawlessness, one that courts cannot condone,” as The New York Times reported.

As human rights organizations and the families of the detained speak out, the pressure on both governments continues to mount. Jennifer Vásquez Sura, Ábrego’s wife, made a public plea: “I won’t stop fighting until I see him alive.”

With reporting from AFP.