On Monday, President Donald Trump suggested that his administration is exploring the possibility of sending violent American criminals to El Salvador for imprisonment in a notorious facility there, discussing the matter with reporters.
“If they’re criminals, and if they’re violent—if they assault elderly people with baseball bats, or commit heinous crimes like raping elderly women, then yes, they should be included,” Trump stated in the Oval Office. He emphasized that violent criminals, whether domestic or foreign, should face similar consequences. “There is no special category for these individuals. They’re just as dangerous as anyone else who enters the country. We have our own criminals, too, and I’m all for addressing that.”
Trump did not specify the cases he was referencing, though one widely reported case involves an 82-year-old woman from Brooklyn who was assaulted by an 18-year-old male, with the suspect later convicted.
His comments were made during a meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who has collaborated with the Trump administration to receive deported individuals, many of whom are not from El Salvador, and house them in a large, controversial prison. Human rights organizations have criticized the facility.
The president framed the idea of deporting violent U.S. criminals as a potential cost-saving measure. “If it’s a homegrown criminal, I have no issue with that,” Trump explained. “We’re currently reviewing the legal aspects. Pam is looking into it. If we can make this happen, it’s a good solution, especially for violent offenders—people who are truly dangerous.”
Experts have pointed out that legally, it is not feasible to deport U.S. citizens to another country. Despite this, the idea has been raised multiple times by Trump and other officials, prompting concerns among Democrats and legal experts alike.
Source: News Reports
