Case Citation
RFK Human Rights et al. v. Dep’t of State et al., 25-cv-1774 (D.D.C. filed June 5, 2025)
Tags
Share
This case challenges a secret and illegal agreement between the U.S. Department of State and the government of El Salvador that allows people deported from the United States—including asylum seekers, longtime U.S. residents, and even U.S. citizens, as threatened by the President—to be indefinitely detained in a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison in brutal conditions. The agreement bypasses Congress, violates U.S. and international law, and relies on a covert funding scheme in which the the United States funnels millions of dollars to the Salvadoran government to carry out incommunicado detentions.
Under this backroom deal, the U.S. government arrests U.S. residents and sends them to be imprisoned in a Salvadoran facility, with no access to legal counsel, courts, or contact with their families. These facilities operate like black sites. Detained people are subjected to abuse, held incommunicado, and denied the most basic legal protections. As of June 2025, reports estimate that close to 300 people have been disappeared under the agreement, though the true number remains unknown.
At its core, this lawsuit is about stopping the U.S. government from outsourcing human rights abuses through secret international deals. The rule of law doesn’t end at the border and human rights cannot be suspended by handshake agreements.
What is the legal argument in this case?
This case argues that the State Department’s backroom deal violated the Administrative Procedure Act by exceeding the executive’s legal authority and putting lives at risk in violation of U.S. laws, treaty obligations, and the Constitution. The case demands that the agreement be made public, declared illegal, and permanently halted.
What is the status of this case?
Pending before the district court.
June 5, 2025
Case Partners
-
California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ)
CCIJ utilizes coordination, advocacy, and legal services to fight for the liberation of immigrants in detention in California.
-
Democracy Forward
Democracy Forward Foundation is a 501 nonprofit legal services and public policy research organization in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2017, the organization works to expose and litigate corruption in the Executive Branch of the United States government.
-
Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef)
Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends our immigrant communities against injustices in the immigration system. ImmDef envisions a future where no immigrant is forced to face an unjust immigration system alone.
-
Immigration Equality
For 30 years, Immigration Equality has worked to secure safe haven, freedom, and equality for the LGBTQ and HIV-positive communities. Through direct legal services, policy advocacy, and impact litigation, we support immigrants who face discrimination based on who they are and whom they love.
-
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
NACDL envisions a society where all individuals receive fair, rational, and humane treatment within the criminal legal system. NACDL’s mission is to serve as a leader, alongside diverse coalitions, in identifying and reforming flaws and inequities in the criminal legal system, and redressing systemic racism, and ensuring that its members and others in the criminal…