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Congress: Demand answers on U.S. role in human and migrants' rights abuses in El Salvador!

Art by Kolectivo San Jacinto, used with permission.

Call your senators today to urge them to VOTE YES on S.R. 195: Requesting information on El Salvador’s human rights practices. This is a CRITICAL time to shine a spotlight on the crisis in El Salvador and to demand answers as to exactly what the U.S. is supporting!

Legal experts across the U.S. are clear that the Trump administration's actions - disappearing hundreds of people to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador, refusing to comply with court orders demanding their return - represent dangerous threats to due process rights for all.

The nightmare facing migrants and asylum seekers who are being wrongfully jailed in El Salvador mirrors the cruel reality throughout El Salvador, where due process rights were stripped away three years ago under the State of Exception. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained - no warrant required - and cut off from any contact with their families or attorneys, with little chance to prove their innocence.

It is URGENT for Congress to demand answers not only on what actions the U.S. is or is not taking to restore due process rights and comply with court rulings, but also on any human rights violation the U.S. may be supporting in El Salvador, including through foreign assistance.

The Senate is likely to vote early next week so taking action today is critical.

Making a call will have the biggest impact - see our script below to leave a comment or use the form on the right to send an email.

Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. Give them your zip code and they will connect you to the right office.
Most Senate offices have an option to leave a comment (any time day or night) – go ahead and choose this if you just want to leave a message.

Sample message: Hello, my name is _____________ and I live in [your city]. [Feel free to add something about your experience/expertise, e.g. “I am part of X organization”, “I have joined delegations to Central America, and I follow issues there very closely”, “My parents fled the war in El Salvador in the 1980s ,” etc.]

I am calling to urge you to vote yes on S.R. 195 to request a human rights report from the State Department on conditions in El Salvador, including regarding the immigrants the U.S. is paying to jail there. I am extremely concerned for their safety and for the safety of over 86,000 people in El Salvador who have also been jailed without due process. I hope you will fight to get answers not only about what the administration is doing to ensure the release of migrants shipped off to a maximum-security prison in violation of federal court orders but also about what else U.S. tax dollars may be supporting in El Salvador.

We just need few pieces of information to find your representative and senators offices to be able to send them an email. Note: If the form asks you for a prefix and offers only limited options, this request is coming from the Congressional office, not CISPES. If it were up to us, you could fill in as you choose or skip altogether.

A parallel bill was recently introduced in the House so you will have the opportunity to email your Rep and both Senators.

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Congress: Demand answers on the Trump administration's actions in El Salvador!

Your Representative

Subject: Support transparency on El Salvador, cosponsor H.R. 368

Message:

I am writing to encourage you to cosponsor on the resolution introduced by Rep. Castro requesting the administration report to Congress about the steps being taking to "ensure that the Government of the Republic of El Salvador releases United States citizens or residents being detained or imprisoned in El Salvador in compliance with United States court orders regarding their return to the United States," as well as a comprehensive accounting of the broader human rights situation in the country. This resolution will allow Congress to better understand the conditions to which people are being subjected in El Salvador’s prisons and what actions the administration is taking to provide due process in compliance with U.S. law. This is urgent not only for migrants and asylum seekers whom the U.S. is now paying El Salvador to jail in potentially life-threatening conditions, cut off completely from the outside world and denied access to their attorneys, but also for U.S. citizens, whom President Trump has repeatedly suggested sending there as well. Over the past three years, the government of El Salvador has arrested more than 86,000 people without requiring a warrant, including reports of several U.S. citizens and permanent residents, under an ongoing "state of exception" that suspends many constitutional protections. International human rights bodies have documented the systematic denial of due process rights as well as widespread abuses, including physical beatings, torture, and denial of food, water, and basic medical attention. Human rights groups in El Salvador have documented the deaths of at least 368 people in custody in this same time period. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not contributing to human rights violations in El Salvador, whether against their own citizens or foreign nationals. I urge you to support this important resolution promoting transparency regarding the status of human rights in El Salvador and relevant U.S. actions under the Foreign Assistance Act. Please respond to let me know if you plan to cosponsor H. Res. 368.

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Your representative is already a cosponsor - please thank them!

Subject: Thank you for upholding human rights in El Salvador

Message:

I am writing to thank you for your leadership on H.R. 368 requesting information about the alarming human rights conditions in El Salvador and pressing the Trump administration to provide answers about the steps it has taken to ensure the release of migrants they have sent to be jailed in that country’s deadly prison system and restoring due process. As you know, human rights violations in El Salvador are widespread. The government has jailed over 86,000 people without due process, depriving them of contact with their families and access to attorneys for years on end. This includes foreign nationals, including reports of several U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been jailed under the State of Exception. I appreciate your efforts to get answers from the administration as to what they are doing to address this crisis. It is troubling enough that our tax dollars would be spent on supporting these abuses but downright chilling that our government is imprisoning migrants and asylum-seekers there and threatening to do the same to U.S. citizens. Thank you for your leadership to ensure our government is not complicit in the widespread human rights violations taking place in El Salvador, to protect the fundamental rights of migrants and asylum seekers, and to restore due process for all

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Your Senators

Subject: Support transparency on El Salvador, vote yes on S.Res. 195

Message:

I am writing to encourage you to cosponsor on the resolution introduced by Senators Kaine, Schumer, Van Hollen, and Padilla requesting the administration report to Congress about steps being taken to "ensure that the Government of the Republic of El Salvador releases United States citizens or residents being detained or imprisoned in El Salvador in compliance with United States court orders regarding their return to the United States," as well as a comprehensive accounting of the broader human rights situation in the country. This resolution will allow Congress to better understand the conditions to which people are being subjected in El Salvador’s prisons and what actions the administration is taking to provide due process in compliance with U.S. law. This is urgent not only for migrants and asylum seekers whom the U.S. is now paying El Salvador to jail in potentially life-threatening conditions, cut off completely from the outside world and denied access to their attorneys and family members, but also for U.S. citizens, whom President Trump has repeatedly suggested sending there as well. Over the past three years, the government of El Salvador has arrested more than 86,000 people without requiring a warrant, including reports of several U.S. citizens and permanent residents, under an ongoing "state of exception" that suspends many constitutional protections. International human rights bodies have documented the systematic denial of due process rights as well as widespread abuses, including physical beatings, torture, and denial of food, water, and basic medical attention. Human rights groups in El Salvador have documented the deaths of at least 368 people in custody in this same time period. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not contributing to human rights violations in El Salvador, whether against their own citizens or foreign nationals. I urge you to support this important resolution promoting transparency regarding the status of human rights in El Salvador and relevant U.S. actions under the Foreign Assistance Act. Please respond to let me know how you plan to vote.

Characters remaining:

Your senator is already a cosponsor - please thank them!

Subject: Thank you for upholding human rights in El Salvador

Message:

I am writing to thank you for your leadership on SR 195 requesting information about the alarming human rights conditions in El Salvador and pressing the Trump administration to provide answers about the steps it has taken to ensure the release of migrants they have sent to be jailed in that country’s deadly prison system and restoring due process. As you know, human rights violations in El Salvador are widespread. The government has jailed over 86,000 people without due process, depriving them of contact with their families and access to attorneys for years on end. This includes many foreign nationals, including reports of several U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been jailed under the State of Exception. I appreciate your efforts to get answers from the administration as to what they are doing to address this crisis. It is troubling enough that our tax dollars would be spent on supporting these abuses but downright chilling that our government is imprisoning migrants and asylum-seekers there and threatening to do the same to U.S. citizens. Thank you for your leadership to ensure our government is not complicit in the widespread human rights violations taking place in El Salvador, to protect the fundamental rights of migrants and asylum seekers, and to restore due process for all

Characters remaining:

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