Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and 40 senators and representatives sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem raising the alarm about the horrific conditions at Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), El Salvador’s notorious megaprison and torture center, and pressing the Trump Administration on its use of U.S. taxpayer funding to send and hold people there.
Their letter follows a Human Rights Watch and Cristosal report published on November 12 that found a systemic pattern of abuse and torture at CECOT.
“We write to you expressing profound concern over the findings of the recently published report titled ‘You Have Arrived in Hell: Torture and Other Abuses Against Venezuelans in El Salvador’s Mega Prison,’” wrote the members. “This meticulously researched report, published on November 12 by Human Rights Watch and the El Salvador-based Cristosal exposes the systematic pattern of abuse and torture experienced by the 252 Venezuelan nationals the Trump Administration sent to El Salvador’s notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) between March and April of 2025. It also finds that the Administration failed to respect the principle of non-refoulment and questions the Administration’s reliance on El Salvador’s assurances that it would abide by the UN Convention Against Torture.”
The members continued, “We urge you to investigate these findings and provide an immediate explanation to Congress and to the American people for the Trump Administration’s complicity in subjecting these individuals to such horrific and cruel treatment.”
“Longstanding domestic and international law prohibit the United States from transferring any person from our jurisdiction or effective control to any place where the person would face such serious human rights violations,” the members pressed. “Yet, the Department of Homeland Security sent these individuals to El Salvador to be detained at CECOT, and the Department of State provided $4.76 million dollars to cover the costs ‘associated with’ their detention.”
“These violations are a stain on the moral conscience of our country. We urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that the United States is never again complicit in such horrific and unlawful behavior,” the members concluded.
Full text of the letter is available here.
Senator Cortez Masto has consistently pushed for dignity and humanity in the U.S. immigration system. She called on both the Biden and Trump administrations to protect DACA recipients, TPS holders and other immigrants. She has worked to pass meaningful immigration reform that balances critical border security measures with a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, and essential workers.
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