SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — The number of people deported to El Salvador from the U.S. nearly doubled in the first months of 2026, according to official figures, which come as Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has positioned himself as an ally willing to help the Trump administration accelerate deportations.
The U.S. deported 5,033 Salvadorans back to their country in the first three months of 2026 compared with 2,547 deportees in the same period in 2025, according to El Salvador migration authority figures obtained by the Associated Press on Tuesday.
That marks nearly a 98 percent increase at the same time that the Trump administration has boosted deportation flights across the world. Globally, deportation flights from the U.S. jumped around 61 percent between 2024 and 2025, according to data compiled by the Asociación Agenda Migrante El Salvador, or AAMES, and other organizations.
The sharp increase in deportations “confirms a real hardening
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