In El Salvador, in the wake of the Trump administration’s new immigration policies, many understand they run a real risk of deportation from the U.S. if they do immigrate illegally. However, immigration and economic experts in El Salvador say that, for the moment, these measures haven’t slowed or halted the flow of undocumented people coming to the U.S.
In fact, they say, it’s pushed some migrants to attempt even more dangerous border crossing routes.
Brandon Castillo, one of many Salvadorans who get up and go to work every day to earn a living and support their families, thinks that in El Salvador, people will always try to improve their lives. But he recognizes that in El Salvador, opportunities are limited.
“Salvadorans will always try to find the best of all possibilities,” he said. “So many people have risked their lives or even died immigrating illegally to the United States. The risk has always existed, and even now, we’re seeing people immigrate.
“Realistically, as a country, we don’t have the same opportunities as the U.S.,” Castillo said. “Until we do, people will continue to leave.”
‘Opportunities elsewhere’
Like Castillo and other Salvadorans, experts on immigration and economics say that immigration to the U.S. will likely continue despite the policies President Donald Trump’s administration has implemented in recent months.
Fleeing gang violence and potential danger, and searching for improved economic and political stability continue to push many to leave for the U.S.
“Salvadorans will continue to migrate to the U.S. or other places as long as El Salvador lacks job opportunities, opportunity for development or a climate of stability and security in which they can thrive locally,” said economist Rafael Lemus, who is based in El Salvador and analyzes the various causes of emigration from the country. “If economic, social and political insecurities persist, Salvadorans will continue to look for opportunities elsewhere.”
The U.S. is particularly appealing to Salvadoran migrants, he said, because many have family there who can help them get started.
However, Salvadoran migration expert and human rights specialist Celia Medrano warns that the current situation in the U.S. is “worrying” and, although she says the number of deportees is far from reaching the highest in history as Trump promised it would, fear prevails among some would-be migrants.
Medrano argues that it’s difficult to know whether Trump’s measures will curb immigration, but added that in at least some cases, Salvadorans are choosing other, at times, more dangerous routes into the U.S.
“It’s difficult to say whether the brutality of Trump’s anti-immigration measures will succeed in halting migration to the U.S.,” she said. “For the moment, it doesn’t seem that way, since many migrants have instead shifted to much more dangerous and expensive entry routes, avoiding land border crossings.
“Other migrants are stuck in transit countries, but they haven’t given up on their primary destination: the United States.”
700,000 could be deported
From the start of his election campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to rid the country of all immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
President Nayib Bukele and Trump have agreed that El Salvador will provide a “penitentiary housing service” to the U.S.
Under this unofficial agreement, El Salvador houses an “unlimited” number of people expelled from the U.S. who stand accused of belonging to gangs such as the Tren de Aragua and the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, in its Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
El Salvador has already been warned that without a migration agreement with the U.S. focused on benefiting Salvadorans residing there, approximately 700,000 could be deported from the North American country, according to data provided by the former president of the Central Reserve Bank (CRB), Carlos Acevedo.
“This context affects every migrant in the U.S., regardless of whether they have any form of immigration status,” Medrano said. “Asylum seekers, people with residency, beneficiaries of special programs, and even US citizens have been detained and expelled.”
According to data from encounters at the southern border of the U.S., authorities detained a total of 48,476 Salvadorans from April 2023 to April 2025. The data also show a decrease compared to the first four months of fiscal year 2025, which took place under the remaining months of Biden’s term, when 638 were detained.
Medrano added that migrants will probably continue to target the U.S., as not even the coronavirus pandemic was “strong enough” to stop migration, she said. But the manner in which these deportations have been carried out, in many cases flouting law and the U.S. constitution, concern her.
“Although the numbers do not yet exceed the deportations recorded during the Obama and Biden administrations, they have been brutal, rife with xenophobia and hatred, violating all standards of due process, and manipulating the law,” Medrano said.
‘A personal decision’
Daniel López, another Salvadoran, reflected on the situation.
“I think although now things are more complicated, thanks to the measures in place against migrants, we know that people find better pay in the United States,” López said. “Others have relatives there they want to reunite with. Although there is this latent risk, it’s a situation that’s going to continue. If people want to immigrate, they really should look at other countries, though,” he added.
Although the Salvadoran government says it doesn’t have numbers yet on how many Salvadorans the Trump administration has deported back to El Salvador in 2025, the topic isn’t foreign to Salvadorans monitoring the news.
“Immigrating is a personal decision,” said Miguel Barrera. “We all come from different backgrounds and lives; based on that, people make the decisions they think will be the best for them. A lot of times they opt to go to the U.S., even if it puts them in danger, which many perceive is on the rise.
“Perhaps before Salvadorans in the United States weren’t particularly safe, but their jobs and lives were more secure,” said Ángel Alas Melgar, a retired Salvadoran who says his relatives have opted to return to European countries to rebuild their lives. “Let’s just say they weren’t deported as easily.
“Now, thanks to Trump’s return to power, Salvadorans are less safe than ever,” Alas Melgar said.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Salvadoran Kílmar Ábrego García left El Salvador for the U.S. nearly a decade ago, fleeing the gangs in his hometown, his legal team has told the press. But he was arrested and accused of being a member of MS-13, and deported to El Salvador on March 15 in what the Trump administration termed an “administrative error.”
He has been imprisoned in CECOT ever since.
Although this resonated in El Salvador, he has not had the same support as in the U.S., where many are calling for his return. Some Salvadorans are even unaware of Ábrego García’s imprisonment.
Some consider it difficult to comment, as the Trump administration’s accusations that Ábrego is a member of MS-13 seem to have little evidence behind them. Others believe he should return to the U.S.
“I think they should return Kílmar Ábrego García,” Castillo said. “He was deported due to an administrative error, so I think his efforts to build a new life should be appreciated. If it was a mistake, they should allow him to return to his life and family.”
Ábrego García arrived in El Salvador on the first flights of deportees from the U.S. who had been accused of belonging to Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and MS-13. Both presidents have ruled out his return, but U.S. courts continue to push the Trump administration to bring him back.
Editor’s note: This article was produced by El Salvador national newspaper La Prensa Gráfica in partnership with The Baltimore Sun. It was translated from its original Spanish by The Sun’s Kate Cimini: kcimini@baltsun.com.