A growing backlog in U.S. immigration applications is leaving millions of immigrants vulnerable to deportation while they await processing of their cases to live or work legally in the country, according to an NPR analysis.

The bureaucratic delays affect immigrants seeking various forms of legal status, creating uncertainty for those attempting to navigate the immigration system through official channels. The analysis highlights how administrative bottlenecks can undermine efforts by immigrants to regularize their status.

Meanwhile, human rights organizations have raised concerns about the treatment of migrants deported to El Salvador. According to these groups, deportees from the United States routinely disappear into El Salvador's prison system either immediately upon arrival or in the weeks following their return.

Many of these deported individuals remain unable to communicate with family members or legal representatives for extended periods, sometimes lasting years. The human rights groups describe this as a pattern affecting migrants who are sent back to the Central American nation.

The combination of processing delays in the U.S. immigration system and concerns about conditions facing deportees in El Salvador illustrates broader challenges in migration policy between the two countries. The issues affect both those seeking to establish legal status in the United States and those who have been removed from the country.