U.S. authorities deported 5,033 Salvadorans between January and March 2026. That total represents a nearly 98 percent jump from the 2,547 recorded in the same period of 2025. El Salvador’s migration authority provided the figures, which were obtained and reported Tuesday. The increase comes as Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has aligned his government more closely with the Trump administration’s immigration priorities.
The numbers point to a wider pattern. Global U.S. deportation flights climbed around 61 percent between 2024 and 2025, according to data compiled by the Asociación Agenda Migrante El Salvador and partner organizations. Officials in San Salvador say the pace of returns has picked up further this year.
César Ríos, director of the Asociación Agenda Migrante El Salvador, described the rise as confirmation of a hardening U.S. approach toward the region. He noted that flight numbers to El Salvador alone grew by 24 percent in the first quarter, yet the head count of deportees climbed much faster.
Bukele has openly supported accelerated removals. His government has accepted third-country nationals as part of deals with Washington, including a reported $6 million arrangement to hold certain foreign offenders in El Salvador’s high-security prison network. In March 2025, for example, El Salvador received 238 Venezuelans accused of gang ties and placed them in the facility known as CECOT.
The partnership fits into a larger coalition of right-leaning governments that Trump has called the Shield of the Americas. Bukele has attended related meetings while Mexico and Colombia have stayed away. Earlier steps by San Salvador, such as fees on transit passengers at the main airport, also aimed to curb irregular migration flows northward.
The returns carry immediate effects across Central America. Non-governmental organizations report added pressure on reintegration programs that help deportees with housing, job placement and basic services. Many returnees arrive with few resources after years away, and local agencies already operate with limited budgets.
El Salvador maintains a National Reintegration Plan for 2025-2029 developed with international partners. Civil society groups say the plan sets useful goals but lacks full funding and staff to handle the current volume. Similar concerns have surfaced in neighboring countries where smaller numbers of Salvadorans and third-country deportees have also landed.
Most of the Salvadorans sent back in the first quarter came directly from the United States. A smaller share arrived from Mexico or other nations. Separate U.S. data from fiscal year 2024 showed that roughly one in five deportees to El Salvador had criminal convictions, another 5 percent faced pending charges, and the rest were removed for immigration violations.
Migration from El Salvador dropped in recent years after Bukele launched a broad crackdown on gangs. Homicides fell sharply, yet poverty and limited opportunities still push some residents to leave. Over 200,000 Salvadorans in the United States hold temporary protected status that faces legal challenges in American courts.
U.S. officials have not released their own detailed deportation tallies for 2026. Governments in the region rely on arrival records and flight tracking to monitor the trend. Bukele’s office has welcomed the returns as part of joint security efforts.
The migration authority in San Salvador continues to log new flights. No official timeline has been released for the rest of the year, but both governments have signaled that cooperation will remain strong
