A coalition of prominent human rights and legal organizations has filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, alleging that its policy of sending undocumented individuals to El Salvador exposes them to “deplorable” and life-threatening conditions.
The lawsuit, filed on June 5th in D.C. federal court, targets the U.S. Department of State and Secretary Marco Rubio, holding them accountable for what plaintiffs describe as an “arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law” agreement.
Among the plaintiffs is Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, an organization founded after the assassination of RFK in 1968.
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Notably, RFK Jr., son of the organization’s namesake, currently heads the Department of Health and Human Services. Other key plaintiffs include the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, all united in their challenge to a policy they claim violates fundamental legal and constitutional rights.
The lawsuit asserts that the Trump Administration’s policy, which has already led to hundreds of deportations, is in direct conflict with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). It argues the agreement lacks any legal basis and fails to provide a reasonable or adequately explained justification for sending individuals to a nation “internationally infamous for human rights abuses.”
“This case presents an extraordinary set of facts, but an ordinary application of blackletter APA law,” the lawsuit states, emphasizing the alleged clear violations of established legal principles.
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Concerns about El Salvador’s human rights record are not new. A 2023 Department of State report, cited in the lawsuit, details “cruel treatment of prisoners, including torture and life-threatening prison conditions” within El Salvador’s penal system. Furthermore, other reports indicate widespread diseases such as tuberculosis and scabies in the country’s prisons.
Despite these grim findings, the Trump State Department reached an agreement with El Salvador in February, under which the U.S. pays fees to the country in exchange for accepting deported individuals. This arrangement saw the U.S. pay $6 million earlier this year to imprison approximately 300 alleged Venezuelan gang members.
The plaintiff organizations, which provide legal and direct services to immigrants, argue that this agreement has severely impaired their ability to carry out their core missions by making it more difficult to assist those rendered to El Salvador. They contend the agreement violates the APA by being contrary to both law and constitutional rights.
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Specifically, the lawsuit alleges violations of Fifth Amendment protections of life, liberty, or property without due process, as well as infringements upon the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, the Sixth Amendment guarantee of trial, and the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
The suit powerfully concludes that “the agreement fails to adequately address, and is irreconcilably at odds with, the State Department’s own findings that CECOT and other prison facilities in El Salvador are replete with human rights abuses.” The legal battle is expected to shed further light on the controversial policy and its implications for human rights.
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