Report: At least 138 people deported from U.S. to El Salvador have been killed
![A migrant from El Salvador.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ScCSdSWhBFvBUhoMgXq8dQ-415-80.jpg)
In recent years, at least 138 people deported from the United States to El Salvador have been killed after their return, Human Rights Watch says in a report released Wednesday.
Some of the deaths occurred just days after the person was back in El Salvador, The Associated Press reports. Human Rights Watch believes even more people have been murdered, but because of the stigma of being deported, their deaths were not shared with authorities. More than 70 deportees also told Human Rights Watch they have been sexually assaulted since coming back to El Salvador. "Our concern is that many of these people are facing a death sentence," Human Rights Watch's Alison Leal Parker said.
Between 2014 and 2018, the United States deported roughly 111,000 Salvadorans, and the deaths occurred during the Trump and Obama administrations. The number of Salvadorans seeking asylum in the U.S. was up nearly 1,000 percent between 2012 and 2017, with most fleeing gang violence. El Salvador has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Under the Trump administration, Central Americans seeking asylum are waiting in Mexico while their claims are being processed; previously, they were able to stay in the United States while waiting for a decision. Parker said many Salvadorans are experiencing violence in Mexican border towns, and Human Rights Watch is "deeply concerned by the Trump administration's effort to literally eviscerate the right to seek asylum in the United States."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
10 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From cell reparation to monkey communication
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
TV to watch in September, from 'Agatha All Along' to 'The Penguin'
The Week Recommends A 'WandaVision' spinoff, a DC Comics villain's starring turn and a silly Netflix original
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Pope urges climate action, unity at Jakarta mosque
Speed Read The pope and the mosque's top cleric signed a joint declaration encouraging religious tolerance and climate change action
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published