SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Less than $3 per week View Profile The Explainer Talking Points The Week Recommends Newsletters From the Magazine The Week Junior Food & Drink Personal Finance All Categories Newsletter sign up In The Spotlight El Salvador's CECOT prison becomes Washington's go-to destination Republicans and Democrats alike are clamoring for access to the Trump administration's extrajudicial deportation camp — for very different reasons Newsletter sign up Politicians eye El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center to show both support for and opposition to Trump's deportation agenda (Image credit: Rep. Riley Moore (@RepRileyMoore) / X) Rafi Schwartz, The Week US 18 April 2025 As the battle over President Donald Trump's extrajudicial deportation agenda intensifies, lawmakers have begun descending on El Salvador's CECOT prison to stake their political claims on the White House's international outsourcing of its migrant detention program. Visits to CECOT have afforded Republicans another avenue for showcasing their fealty to the Trump administration and its anti-immigrant agenda. Democrats, conversely, want to highlight the president's cruelty toward those he's alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, and to advocate for the return of those detainees. 'There will be more members of Congress coming' House Democrats are working to form an "official congressional delegation" to visit the CECOT terrorism confinement center, with "dozens" clamoring to be involved, Axios said. While individual lawmakers can visit the facility "informally," a GOP House committee chair's "approval is needed" to endow the group with "crucial oversight powers and security resources." In particular, the detention of Kilmar Ábrego García, the Maryland resident unlawfully detained and deported by the White House, has become a "political flashpoint on Capitol Hill," with Democratic lawmakers "lining up trips to El Salvador to press for his release," said Politico. Democrats are "jumping on airplanes and headed down to El Salvador" where they "camp outside the prison camp where terrorists and murderers and rapists are held," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during a recent episode of his "Verdict" podcast. This week, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) traveled to El Salvador to work toward Ábrego García's release, but was barred from entering by Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa. "I may be the first United States senator to visit El Salvador on this issue," said Van Hollen at a press conference after his failed attempt to contact Ábrego García. "But there will be more and there will be more members of Congress coming." Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. Only Trump's allies can 'wander and gawk' While he may be the first Senator to attempt to visit CECOT, Van Hollen is "not the first member of Congress to travel to El Salvador recently," The Washington Post said. One day before Van Hollen's unsuccessful attempt, Republican Reps. Riley Moore (W. Va.), Carol Miller (W. Va.), Jason Smith (Mo.), Claudia Tenney (N.Y.), Mike Kennedy (Utah), Ron Estes (Kan.) and Kevin Hern (Okla.) visited the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador, and shared their own photographs at CECOT standing in front of prisoners. El #EmbajadorDuncan dio ayer la bienvenida a El Salvador a la delegación encabezada por el Congresista Jason Smith, quien visita el país para fortalecer los lazos bilaterales y dialogar sobre iniciativas que promueven el desarrollo económico y la cooperación mutua. pic.twitter.com/Zj0o8OSiOJApril 16, 2025 I just toured the CECOT prison in El Salvador. This maximum security facility houses the country’s most brutal criminals, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists. Several inmates were extremely violent criminals recently deported from the U.S. I leave now even… pic.twitter.com/zhO8i2IbOdApril 15, 2025 That Van Hollen would be denied access one day after his Republican colleagues were able to enter the facility suggests CECOT "isn't a prison holding Americans," but instead is where Trump holds "political prisoners," said journalist Marisa Kabas on Substack. It's a place where "only his allies can wander and gawk." Republicans are using their trips to El Salvador to "pivot from the legal fight" over Trump's deportations to a "proxy battle over illegal immigration," Politico said. It's a broader issue the party believes "plays to its favor." With his double thumbs-up photo-op at CECOT, Rep. Moore in particular "chose to be at the front of the line" of the Trump administration's "PR campaign," said Andrew Donaldson at West Virginia Watch. "I don't recall outright celebrations of Abu Ghraib on the right, like we are seeing now" with prisoners at CECOT, said U.S. Naval War College Professor and historian Joe Stieb to Kabas. Explore More Donald Trump immigration Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Social Links Navigation Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others. 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