The Senate on Thursday blocked an effort led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., to require the Trump administration to submit a report on the human rights record of El Salvador. The resolution also would have forced the administration to report on its compliance with court orders on immigration cases. The vote was 50-45.
Kaine said the reporting requirement was needed because "Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has rounded up tens of thousands of Salvadorans without due process and jammed them indefinitely into overpopulated torture centers."
Kaine claimed Bukele's reach has expanded. "And now he's trying to do the same to people living in the United States. President [Donald] Trump is even threatening to send U.S. citizens to these same horrific megaprisons."
The legislation focused on due process for "residents" of the United States — not just citizens — that Kaine said were "wrongfully deported by the U.S. to El Salvador." According to Kaine, the legislation could have confirmed whether U.S. security assistance was used to support the "illegal detention of U.S. residents."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., supported the effort and said, "The Trump administration has taken a sledgehammer to the very basis of our legal system and the rights Americans have as citizens."
A companion Resolution of Inquiry was introduced in the House by Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas.