Senate Hands Donald Trump Win in El Salvador Deportation Fight
By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic resolution that sought greater transparency from the Trump administration regarding deportations to El Salvador.
The effort marked the latest attempt by Senate Democrats, currently in the minority, to bring Trump administration policies up for direct votes. The motion to discharge the resolution from committee and bring it to the Senate floor failed by a vote of 45-50.
"This information is critical at a time when the Trump administration has admitted to wrongfully deporting people to El Salvador, and after Trump has said he's also looking for ways to deport American citizens to the same terrible prisons," Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, the lead sponsor of the resolution, said on the floor.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has faced multiple legal challenges to its invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, which saw over 200 alleged gang members flown to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, just as a federal judge issued a restraining order over concerns that deportees had not had their cases heard in court.
What To Know
The resolution blocked by Republicans would force administration officials to report to Congress about what steps they are taking to comply with courts that have ruled on the deportations.
Democrats have highlighted the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to the Central American country and who a Maryland judge has said should be returned to the United States.
Democrats want to put Republicans on record on that case and others while also pressuring the government of El Salvador, which is working with the Trump administration. The resolution would also require the Trump administration to reveal more information about money paid to El Salvador and assess the country's human rights record.
El Salvador prisoners
Prisoners look out their cell as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26, 2025. Associated Press
It's just the latest example of Democrats using the legislative tools available to them in the minority to try to challenge Trump's agenda.
In early April, the Senate passed a resolution that would have thwarted Trump's ability to impose tariffs on Canada, and Republicans narrowly blocked a similar resolution later that month that would have stalled Trump's global tariffs.
Four Republicans voted with Democrats on the first tariff measure, and three Republicans voted with them on the second resolution. No Republicans joined Democrats on Thursday's measure on El Salvador.
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The Democrats are forcing the votes under different statutes that allow so-called "privileged" resolutions—legislation that must be brought up for a vote, whether majority leadership wants to or not. The resolution rejected Thursday was under the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows any senator to force a vote to request information on a country's human rights practices.
Separately, a group of Democrats led by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday to ask about the U.S. payment to El Salvador for the prisoners. The senators demanded a "detailed explanation from the Department of State as to whether, and if so, how, it concluded that this payment was lawful."
The Democrats say they will continue to push for more votes. Also Thursday, Kaine and several other Democrats filed a joint resolution of disapproval to try to block a $1.9 billion arms sale to Qatar at the same time that the country is offering to donate a $400 million luxury jet as Trump's Air Force One. If the Senate Foreign Relations Committee does not consider the resolution, Democrats could force another vote on the Senate floor.
What People Are Saying
Human Rights First President and CEO Uzra Zeya, in a statement shared with Newsweek: "Today Senator Kaine and 44 of his Senate colleagues took an important step to uphold transparency, accountability, and U.S. law. The Trump administration shipped vulnerable people at taxpayer expense, without any due process, to El Salvador, where they now languish in a prison notorious for torture and abuse. The Senators who voted against today's resolution opted to willfully ignore the consequences of this outrageous abuse of power, abdicating their responsibilities to the people they serve."
Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, speaking in the Senate: "As we speak, President Trump is paying American taxpayer dollars to the government of El Salvador, which has been a notorious violator of human rights. He's paying them American taxpayer dollars to lock up American residents without due process of law."
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, speaking to Van Hollen at a committee hearing May 8: "This administration is complying with all federal court orders... Your advocacy for a known terrorist is alarming," referring to Abrego Garcia.
What Happens Next
Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act remains under legal challenge, but the administration has used other routes to send more immigrants to El Salvador in the meantime.
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