Wow This Headline Gets the Statistics COMPLETELY WRONG

An example of a bad graph. It's a 3D bar graph made of cones, made by Microsoft Excel. Image source.

Umm. Here's how NOT to report on a statistic: Majority of Tracked Migrants Sent Back to El Salvador by the U.S. Were Killed

A huge percentage of migrants and asylum seekers from El Salvador who were deported by the United States have been killed, raped or tortured after returning home, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. The humanitarian group followed 200 migrant cases over a two year period and found that 138 of those deported were murdered and the rest were either raped or tortured—often by the same gangs they were originally fleeing from. The report, called Deported to Danger: United States deportation policies expose Salvadorans to death and abuse, also found that nearly 11,000 people were registered as missing during the decade. “The United States has to have known this was happening because the cases were publicly reported and more importantly because Salvadorans make it clear in asylum applications that this is their reality,” Elizabeth Kennedy, co-author of the report said in a statement. “But this reality is ignored or not believed by U.S. authorities.”

Yeah this is totally NOT what the Human Rights Watch report said.

Look at this line, from the Daily Beast article quoted above: "The humanitarian group followed 200 migrant cases over a two year period and found that 138 of those deported were murdered and the rest were either raped or tortured". THIS IS NOT TRUE. THIS IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

Let's click over and take a look: Deported to Danger: United States Deportation Policies Expose Salvadorans to Death and Abuse. Here's the bit that the Daily Beast article linked above is attempting to report on:

Some deportees are killed following their return to El Salvador. In researching this report, we identified or investigated 138 cases of Salvadorans killed since 2013 after deportation from the US. We found these cases by combing through press accounts and court files, and by interviewing surviving family members, community members, and officials. There is no official tally, however, and our research suggests that the number of those killed is likely greater.

Though much harder to identify because they are almost never reported by the press or to authorities, we also identified or investigated over 70 instances in which deportees were subjected to sexual violence, torture, and other harm, usually at the hands of gangs, or who went missing following their return.

The Daily Beast makes it sound like Human Rights Watch choose 200 people who had been deported to El Salvador, and that these 200 people were randomly chosen or at least chosen in a way that they are representative of all the people who were deported. Then they checked what ended up happening to them 2 years later, and HOLY CRAP, 138 had been murdered and the rest had been abused or tortured, OH MY GOD.

No, here's what Human Rights Watch actually did: They said to themselves, "Let's investigate whether people who are deported to El Salvador end up being victims of murder/torture/abuse. Let's see if we can find any cases where this happened." So they searched through police records, news stories, etc, and they found 138 had been murdered and another 70ish had been abused or tortured. This is an extremely serious problem, which shows that the US immigration system needs to not deport people back to places where they are in danger.

But it's simply not true that the "majority" of people deported to El Salvador were murdered. It's just not.

Actually, the Human Rights Watch article says this: "Between 2014-2018, the US and Mexico have deported about 213,000 Salvadorans (102,000 from Mexico and 111,000 from the United States)." Ah, so 138 out of 111,000. 0.1%. Well that doesn't make for a very exciting headline. (However, it's very likely that the 138 is an undercount. So the actual statistic is not 0.1% and it's also not "a majority.")

This matters because it is so easy for incorrect information to spread on the internet. People say/share/believe things because they agree with what they already believe, not because they're true. It's easy to get into the mentality of sharing something on the internet because you see it as scoring "points" for your "side", not because you actually care about the actual practical reality of whether or not that "fact" is true and what we should do to help.

Here are some news articles that reported on this statistic the right way. Calling attention to the fact that this is a huge problem, and also not misrepresenting what the report actually said:

NBC News: Hundreds deported from U.S. to El Salvador have been killed or abused, new report says
Washington Post: At least 138 Salvadorans deported by the U.S. were killed in El Salvador: Rights group (Hmm, this article notes that 109 of those that were killed had been deported by the Obama administration. Well that doesn't really "score a point for our side" now does it? Umm, okay, how about we actually care about immigrants instead of "our side"?)
NPR: Human Rights Watch: More Than 200 Salvadorans Were Abused, Killed After Deportation
The Guardian:  Hundreds of Salvadorans deported by US were killed or abused, report reveals
Al Jazeera: At least 138 deported from US to El Salvador were killed: HRW
Fox News: At least 138 migrants deported to El Salvador from US killed, report says
Vice: People Keep Getting Killed in El Salvador After They're Deported From the U.S.
Democracy Now: Human Rights Watch: 200 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed, Raped or Tortured After U.S. Deportation

And I'll conclude by saying this: The US needs to welcome immigrants and refugees. We have a responsibility to help them. If you're able, please consider donating to organizations that support immigrants and advocate for their rights. I donate to RAICES. If you know of other good ones feel free to leave a comment about them.