El Salvador's Prisons: A Black Hole for U.S. Deportees Thousands of Salvadorans deported from the United States are vanishing into the country's prison system, with many held incommunicado for extended periods. President Nayib Bukele's extended suspension of rights has created a climate of fear and detention, leaving families and lawyers in the dark about the fate of their loved ones. Allegations of arbitrary arrests, potential human rights abuses, and a lack of due process are surfacing as the emergency powers continue. Migrants deported from the United States are routinely disappearing into El Salvador's prisons the moment they land or in the weeks that follow, with many remaining incommunicado from family and lawyers for years. For the past four years, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has extended a 30-day suspension of rights, effectively creating a police state that keeps Salvadoran deportees from the U.S. trapped in the Central American country's notorious prisons. T, who asked to be identified only by her first initial out of fear for her safety from Salvadoran officials, remembers the profound fear she felt when she was deported to her home country of El Salvador from the U.S. late last year. She described the experience as traumatizing and deeply frightening. Now back in immigration detention in the U.S., T fled El Salvador nearly five years ago, citing constant harassment and threats from men in her neighborhood due to her identity as a transgender woman. Upon her arrival back in El Salvador, T recounts feeling harassed again by Salvadoran authorities at the airport, who subjected her to a strip search to check for tattoos. She was informed that any tattoos referencing gang affiliation would result in immediate transfer to CECOT, a notorious detention facility. Despite having no criminal record or gang affiliations, T was told that local officers could question and detain her at any time. T's experience is far from isolated. Since the Trump administration took office in January 2025, over 9,000 Salvadorans have been deported from the U.S. to El Salvador. NPR's reporting reveals that these deportees often vanish into El Salvador's prison system, with many held in prolonged isolation, cut off from communication with their families and legal representatives for months, or even years. A photograph provided to the press by the El Salvador presidential press office, showing Venezuelan deportees from the U.S. at the CECOT prison, highlights the grim reality of detention. While Venezuelans in this particular instance have since been released, numerous Salvadoran nationals deported to their homeland continue to languish in detention. The surge in detainees is a direct consequence of a March 2022 decree by President Nayib Bukele. This decree, a temporary suspension of rights known as the estado de excepción, has been repeatedly extended. While El Salvador has seen a decrease in its homicide rate compared to the U.S., the emergency powers have also contributed to the country becoming a place where, according to reports, a significant percentage of those arrested had not been identified as gang members by El Salvador's intelligence services prior to the state of exception's implementation. Jennifer Kesselberg Dubon has not been able to speak with her husband since his deportation from the U.S. to El Salvador in 2023. He was imprisoned on suspicion of gang association, a claim that Dubon vehemently denies. She expressed deep anguish, stating, In all honesty, he may be dead. Her husband was accused by Salvadoran police of associating with gangs weeks after being deported under the Biden administration. Jennifer, a U.S. citizen residing in Nebraska, emphasized her husband's lack of any gang affiliation and has been unable to establish any communication with him since his imprisonment. She tearfully described her husband's fragile physical and mental state, noting that he was very thin when he entered confinement and does not cope well with being held. A spokesperson for President Bukele did not respond to NPR's requests for comment regarding the allegations of human rights abuses and other violations occurring under the state of exception. Even for those not immediately incarcerated, returning to El Salvador presents immense challenges, particularly economic ones. Sarah Bishop, a professor at Baruch College who studies the post-deportation experiences of Salvadorans, notes the difficulty in finding work, as potential employers often view deportees with suspicion. She also highlights that some deportees are still burdened by debts to smugglers who facilitated their illegal entry into the U.S., struggling to repay these outstanding amounts. Bishop further reveals that individuals who have been returned to El Salvador during the state of exception express fear of leaving their homes due to the risk of police violence. Bishop's research indicates that the vast majority of deportees she has encountered over the last four years, 19 in all, were incarcerated upon or shortly after their arrival. She stresses the critical point that the U.S. and Salvadoran governments share information concerning deportees' criminal records, arrest histories, and even unverified suspicions of gang involvement. This collaboration can lead to individuals being arrested in El Salvador for reasons as minor as a past arrest in either the United States or El Salvador. Under the state of exception, incarceration frequently means complete isolation from the outside world, including family members. This stark reality is all too familiar for Grace, whose brother was detained upon his deportation to El Salvador in 2025. He had a prior charge of statutory rape in El Salvador from years before he moved to the U.S., but he was officially acquitted in 2021, according to El Salvadoran court documents