Immigration arrests of Salvadorans in US up sharply in 2025

Data from the US and Salvadoran governments show the impact which the mass deportation regime and anti-migrant rhetoric of Donald Trump is having on Salvadorans living in the US.   Many more people are being arrested in the interior of the US so they can be deported to El Salvador, while there was a dramatic drop in the number of Salvadorans caught crossing the southern US border. 

Official statistics from ICE show that immigration arrests of Salvadorans in the US increased sharply in 2025 after Donald Trump took office.  Data produced to the Deportation Data Project from Freedom of Information Act requests record 10,698 arrests of Salvadorans from January 1 through October 15, 2025, in comparison to 4,967 arrests the year before.  This represented a more than 100% increase in 10 1/2 months compared to the full year 2024 arrest figures.

Deportation flights to El Salvador have likewise surged.  According to the ICE Flight Monitor at Human Rights First, 175 deportation flights touched down at El Salvador's international airport during 2025, compared to 119 flights the year before.  In 2025, El Salvador was the fourth most common destination for ICE removal flights, after Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

The number of Salvadorans being detained after crossing the southern US border dropped dramatically when Trump took office a year ago, consistent with the pattern of crossings by persons of all nationalities. 3,598 Salvadorans were apprehended by the border patrol in 2025 compared to 42,050 in 2024. (Source: U.S. Customs & Border Patrol)  Half of the 2025 apprehensions happened in January before the Trump administration had even taken control.  

The reduction in border apprehensions necessarily means that the immigration arrests of Salvadorans in 2025 were largely of persons who had been living in the US for some time rather than persons picked up as they crossed the border.

El Salvador's migration directorate. DGME, has made available its data on returnees for the first three quarters of 2025. DGME reports 9,696 persons returned from the US during those nine months.

Fear of being arrested and deported may be driving Salvadorans to transfer more of their assets back to the country.  Remittances dramatically surged in 2025.   According to the El Salvador's Central Reserve Bank, remittances for the first 11 months were just over $9 billion, an increase of 18% over the same period the year before.

Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador expires on September 9, 2026.  This will place more than 190,000 Salvadorans who have lived in the US since at least 2001 into undocumented status and subject to removal, while also terminating their work authorization documents.

One number which is challenging to estimate is the additional number of persons who have decided to "self-deport" back to El Salvador. Speaking to local community leaders, they affirm that there have been people arriving back in the country because of the fears and challenges surrounding Trump's mass deportation campaign.  The improved security situation in many communities around the country may also make the decision to return an easier one for some people.