US Senate Republicans block measure to probe human rights in El Salvador

WASHINGTON

US Senate Republicans blocked legislation Thursday that required the Trump administration to produce a human rights report on El Salvador.

The Senate voted 50-45 against the legislation.

"Republicans blocked my legislation to demand answers from the Trump Administration about whether or not it is complying with U.S. court orders about the forced disappearances of people to megaprisons in El Salvador. And Trump says he's sending American citizens there next," Tim Kaine, the lead sponsor of the resolution, wrote on X.

Kaine, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, senators Chris Van Hollen and Alex Padilla unveiled the bill earlier this month to demand a report detailing steps the administration is taking to ensure compliance with court orders applicable to US citizens or residents wrongfully deported by the US to El Salvador.

"The courts have spoken, and now the Senate needs to ensure that the Trump administration is listening. Senate Democrats will not rest until we have answers," Schumer said in a statement before the vote.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March and deported to El Salvador, where he is being jailed without trial at the infamous CECOT prison under a US-backed agreement that detains some deportees.

His attorneys have maintained that he was wrongly linked to the violent MS-13 gang and denied due process. The US has acknowledged his deportation was an "administrative error," but has refused to arrange for his return.