Trump has discussed options for deporting citizens both publicly and in private, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
By Chris Walker, Truthout
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump’s quip about wanting to “deport” incarcerated U.S. citizens to El Salvador’s notoriously cruel prison system, that the White House has actually been discussing such a policy.
Trump was asked by a reporter on Monday whether he endorsed the idea of sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador, as his administration has already sent hundreds of noncitizens there, mostly immigrants from Venezuela who were living in the U.S. The White House has tried to justify its actions by claiming that those individuals were violent gang members — but an investigation by CBS News found that three-quarters of the people deported had no criminal records at all.
Trump responded positively to the idea of sending currently incarcerated U.S. citizens to El Salvador’s prisons as well.
“I love that,” Trump said, adding that he’d be “honored to give them” to that country.
The president acknowledged that he wasn’t sure whether what he was advocating for was legal.
Recent Posts
Workers Are Leaving the Trump Coalition
Take Action Now New survey data show that many of Donald Trump’s 2024 working-class voters are already wavering. But most aren’t turning to Democrats…
The Billionaires’ War
Take Action Now The ultrawealthy put Trump in power but other people will pay the priceBy Paul Krugman, Substack It becomes clearer with each…
The Quiet Way Trump Has Made Life Easier For Polluters
Take Action Now It’s not just about environmental rollbacks: Trump and Lee Zeldin have presided over a striking decline in the EPA enforcing existing…
Coalition Demands Schumer, Jeffries Step Down Over Failure to Fight ‘War-Crazed’ Trump
Take Action Now “Schumer and Jeffries have shown that they cannot be trusted to prevent more wars, more threats of wars, or the transfer of another…