WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 14: President Donald Trump meets with Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday, April 14, 2025.
Al Drago | The Washington Post | Getty Images
President Donald Trump is considering the legal feasibility of deporting U.S. citizens to prisons in Central American nations, according to the White House statement on Tuesday.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to a reporter’s inquiry about whether Trump possesses the authority to send Americans to foreign jails, or if legislative changes would be necessary, stating, “It’s another question that the president has raised.”
Leavitt explained that it is “a legal question that the president is looking into.”
She further elaborated that Trump “would only consider this, if legal, for Americans who are the most violent, egregious, repeat offenders of crime who nobody in this room wants living in their communities.”
When asked to clarify the administration’s interpretation of the law, Leavitt said, “We’re examining it, and once I have more information to share, I certainly will.”
The Trump administration has already deported over 200 alleged foreign gang members from the U.S. to El Salvador, where they are currently incarcerated.
On Monday, Trump expressed his desire to send “homegrown criminals” to a notorious prison in El Salvador, a location where some non-citizens have already been deported.
Trump administration officials informed reporters in the Oval Office that they were unable to compel El Salvador to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported from the U.S. due to an acknowledged administrative error.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who sat next to Trump during the press conference, asserted that he would not release Abrego Garcia, whom the U.S. claims is affiliated with the MS-13 gang. However, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys deny his gang involvement.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal district court judge’s ruling mandating that the Trump administration assist in the return of Abrego Garcia.
