A document sent by El Salvador on April 3 to an official entity of United Nations shows that the United States had a controlling hand over the deported persons on March 15. The documents pertains to a short list of persons whose identity is obscured. Abrego Garcia fits into the category of persons covered by this document.
The document’s existence impacts Abrego Garcia’s case in two ways. First, is exposes the Trump administration to have lied in court cases that it had no formal control over these persons while in prison in El Salvador. The case most pertinent here is the one overseen by Judge James E. Boasberg. This case, J.G.G. v Trump brought by the ACLU, deals with the use of the Alien Enemies Act as the legal basis for deporting persons on March 15 to El Salvador. Boasberg has been threatening to hold the Administration in contempt.
Second, it shines a light on the case as a case of forced or involuntary disappearances, a matter that has been addressed by the international community for some time.
A “forced disappearance” as defined by the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) involves the following core elements: the person is arrested, detained, abducted, or otherwise deprived of their liberty, by agents of a state or with its authorization, support, or acquiescence. This can include not only official actors but also those acting indirectly on behalf of the state. And, refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person. What was concealed in this case is the United State’s control over the imprisoned persons.
What the El Salvadoran government wrote on April 3:
The State of El Salvador wishes to refer to communications from the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which state that the Group has received information on alleged enforced disappearances in El Salvador, in the context of mass deportations carried out between the Government of the United States of America and El Salvador. The Salvadoran State has conducted a detailed analysis of the claims presented, which indicate that the persons mentioned were in the custody of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), were allegedly deported to El Salvador on March 15, 2025, ceased to appear in ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System as of that date, were identified on a list of deportees published by a local media outlet, and that their fate and whereabouts are unknown.
The State of El Salvador emphasizes that it has not arrested, detained, or transferred the persons referred to in these communications. Its role has been limited to the implementation of a bilateral cooperation mechanism with another State, through which it facilitated the use of Salvadoran prison infrastructure for the custody of persons detained under the jurisdiction of that other State. In this context, jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, in accordance with international agreements and principles of sovereignty and cooperation in criminal matters. Therefore, El Salvador cannot be held responsible for any violation of the principle of non-refoulement concerning these individuals.