Figures obtained from the Salvadoran migration authority confirm the steep rise in returns as the Trump administration expands its deportation operations worldwide. Because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has stopped regularly publishing deportation statistics, researchers and journalists have turned to receiving countries like El Salvador to track the enforcement surge. The nearly 98% jump in early-2026 returns coincides with a broader strategic alignment between Washington and San Salvador on migration policy.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has actively embraced the U.S. immigration agenda, offering his country’s infrastructure and cooperation in exchange for diplomatic support and financial payments. While Mexico and other Central American nations have quietly accepted third-country deportees, Bukele has publicly championed the administration’s efforts to expedite removals across the hemisphere.
The rapid acceleration in removals signals a structural shift in regional enforcement, according to migration advocates. “The sharp increase in deportations confirms a real hardening of the U.S. immigration system toward the region,” said César Ríos of the Asociación Agenda Migrante El Salvador, known as AAMES. The organization and partner groups compiled data showing that U.S. deportation flights globally rose approximately 61% between 2024 and 2025.
The enforcement partnership stems from agreements initiated during the previous administration and accelerated under President Donald Trump. In March 2025, Bukele accepted 238 Venezuelan nationals accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang and transferred them to a mega-prison built for suspected cartel and gang members. Under the arrangement, the U.S. government agreed to pay El Salvador $6 million for the transfer and detention of the prisoners, a deal that drew widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
The cooperation has also sparked legal and diplomatic controversies. In April, U.S. authorities mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego García, a Maryland resident and Salvadoran citizen who held protected status in the United States. Bukele initially refused to repatriate him and publicly denied allegations that Salvadoran prisons subject detainees to beatings and torture, claims that human rights groups have extensively documented.
Abrego García was returned to the United States in June. He faces federal charges accusing him of facilitating unauthorized immigration, allegations his lawyers dismissed as baseless and to which he has pleaded not guilty. The Department of Homeland Security has indicated it intends to deport Abrego García to Liberia following the resolution of his U.S. legal proceedings.
Bukele’s alignment with U.S. policy extends beyond bilateral deportation flights. He recently joined a coalition of countries backing the administration’s hemispheric security initiative, dubbed the Shield of the Americas, which Trump described as a framework for cracking down on criminal groups in Latin America. Notably, Mexico and Colombia—the two nations most critical to interrupting migrant and drug transit routes through Central America—declined to participate in the coalition.
The enforcement surge has intensified anxiety among migrant communities already in the United States. Many of the more than 200,000 Salvadorans holding temporary protected status are closely monitoring Supreme Court arguments as the Trump administration seeks to terminate shielding programs for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Haiti and Syria, raising concerns that similar removals could eventually target Central American recipients.
El Salvador’s migration restrictions predate the current administration. In 2023, the Salvadoran government imposed a $1,130 transit fee on travelers from dozens of countries passing through its main airport, a measure implemented under pressure from the Biden administration to curb northward migration flows.
Observers note that migration patterns have shifted alongside domestic security policies. Immigration from El Salvador declined following Bukele’s aggressive anti-gang campaign, which involved mass detentions and a prolonged state of exception. Analysts say Bukele’s administration has strategically pointed to these migration dips as a bargaining tool to deflect U.S. and international criticism of human rights conditions within the Salvadoran penal system.