Human Rights Watch did not hold the U.S. accountable for the violence in El Salvador, given the gangs operating there and the Salvadoran authorities who don’t protect them, or who inflict their own harm. But it did assert that the U.S. “is putting Salvadorans in harm’s way in circumstances where it knows or should know that harm is likely,” the group said in its statement. Moreover, international law prohibits returning anyone to a country “where they face serious risks to their lives or safety,” the group said.