The article centers on the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele at the White House. This meeting took place amidst a legal battle regarding the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego GarcĂa, a Salvadoran resident in Maryland, back to El Salvador.
Abrego GarcĂa was deported as part of a larger group of migrants labeled as criminals. The US Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return, but officials refused. Bukele also stated he would not return Abrego GarcĂa, calling him a terrorist. Abrego GarcĂa, a construction worker with 14 years in the US, was accused of gang affiliation, but the charges were never proven. The US admitted to a “administrative error” in the deportation.
Trump praised Bukele's handling of the situation and their collaboration on immigration. Bukele stated El Salvador's willingness to help with the US's “terrorism problem.” The US's harsh immigration policies, overseen by Stephen Miller, were heavily emphasized. El Salvador receives $6 million in compensation for receiving and incarcerating deportees under the resurrected Enemy Aliens Act of 1789. This Act was previously used during wartime. The Trump administration plans to deport as many migrants as possible, especially those who entered during the Biden administration.
Bukele's cooperation with Trump's agenda has led to praise from the US. He presented El Salvador as a safer country and stated that by incarcerating thousands, he had freed millions. This approach has resonated with conservative sectors. The large Cecot prison, a symbol of Bukele's tough-on-crime policies, has drawn criticism from human rights organizations.