Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported by the U.S. government to El Salvador in direct violation of a federal judge’s order—and what happened next is horrifying.

He was sent to CECOT, the country’s notorious mega-prison, where he says he was beaten, forced to kneel for hours, starved, sleep-deprived, and psychologically tortured. He lost over 30 pounds in two weeks. The lights never turned off. Sanitation was almost nonexistent. Prison staff threatened to send him to cells with gang members “who would tear him apart.” This isn’t justice—it’s a human rights catastrophe.

And it could happen again.

The U.S. has a legal and moral duty not to deport people to places where they face torture or persecution. That duty was ignored. Now the government says it may deport him again—this time to an unnamed “third country.” We cannot let this pattern continue.

We call on Congress and the Department of Homeland Security to immediately ban deportations to El Salvador’s CECOT prison and any country or facility where people are at serious risk of torture, abuse, or degrading treatment. The U.S. must never again send someone into the hands of their abusers.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about humanity, dignity, and the rule of law. Let’s make sure what happened to Kilmar Abrego Garcia never happens again.

Photo: Jose Cabezas/Reuters