Report: At Least 138 People Sent from US to El Salvador Were Killed

At least 138 people deported² to El Salvador from the United States in recent years were later killed, a rights group claims in a new report.

Human Rights Watch released the report on Wednesday. It comes as the U.S. government makes it harder for Central Americans to seek refuge in the United States.

The report said that most of the deaths took place less than a year after the deportees returned to El Salvador, and some within days. The group also confirmed at least 70 cases of sexual assault or other attacks following their arrival in the country.

The violence shows the risk faced by people who have been forced to return to their home country, noted³ Alison Leal Parker, the group's U.S. managing director. She said that U.S. law requires deportation⁴ of non-citizens who were tried and found guilty of a number of crimes. Trump⁵ administration policies also discourage those seeking asylum⁶, she added.

"Our concern is that many of these people are facing a death sentence," Leal Parker said.

Between 2014 and 2018, the U.S. government sent about 111,000 Salvadorans back to their homeland. El Salvador has long been struggling with the problem of gang violence.

The United Nations reported last year that killings⁷ in El Salvador have decreased from a high of more than 6,000 in 2015. But the country still has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. A majority of those killings are linked to gangs.

The number of Salvadorans seeking asylum in the United States grew by nearly 1,000 percent between 2012 and 2017. Many of those individuals reported being threatened by gangs. Only about 18 percent of asylum seekers are actually offered asylum.

Human Rights Watch confirmed the 138 deaths noted in the report through official records and social media, and by contacting family members. The group said it believes the actual number is much higher. The number of attacks is likely low also because of under-reporting in the country of 6.5 million people.

César Ríos is executive director of the Salvadoran Migration⁸ Institute, a non-governmental organization. He said no one in El Salvador follows the deaths of deportees, but that he found the information believable. He said it shows that many people are returning to communities controlled by gangs.

Rios added, "We can say that deporting⁹ people to these areas is very difficult and dangerous."

President Donald Trump has made immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his administration. It has a policy of forcing asylum-seekers from Central America to wait in Mexico while their requests are considered or be sent back to their homelands if their claim is rejected.

Words in This Story

deport¹ – v. to force to leave a country

discourage – v. to be negative about something

gang – n. a group of people often involved in crime

homicide – n. a murder

1 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

2 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

8 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

9 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：