"The situation raises serious concerns about a wide range of fundamental rights under both US and international law," Türk said in a statement. The Office of the High Commissioner explained that US data indicates that between January 20 and April 29, 142,000 people were deported from the United States.
Turk focused in particular on the situation after US President Donald Trump invoked a 1798 law to deport individuals he accused of belonging to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua cartel to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
The US Supreme Court and some lower courts have suspended deportations under this law, ruling that due process was not respected. However, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that the fate and whereabouts of at least 245 Venezuelans and approximately 30 Salvadorans deported to El Salvador remain unclear.
The Commission added that it had received information from families and lawyers indicating that more than 100 Venezuelans are believed to be detained at the Anti-Terrorism Center (Sicote Prison) in El Salvador. The statement indicated that reports indicate that many of the detainees were not informed of the US government's intention to deport them to a third country, that many were unable to retain legal counsel, and that they were not given the opportunity to challenge the legality of their deportation prior to the airlift.
The statement noted that no official lists of the names of those detained have yet been published by US or Salvadoran authorities, and their legal status in El Salvador remains unclear. Turk noted that the families he spoke to expressed feelings of helplessness and pain at seeing their members labeled and treated as violent criminals or terrorists without a judicial ruling on the validity of the charges against them.
He added that the manner in which some individuals were detained, including their shackling, and the derogatory rhetoric used against migrants, were deeply concerning. He welcomed the efforts of the US judiciary, legal community, and civil society to ensure the protection of human rights in this context.
He reiterated his call on the US government to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with due process, implement court decisions immediately and fully, protect the rights of children, and halt the deportation of any individual to a country where they would face a risk of torture or irreparable harm.
