"I'm all for it. If they can house these horrible criminals for a lot less money than it costs us, I'm all for it," Trump said.

Summary

Trump expressed support for sending American citizens to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, praising President Bukele’s tough-on-crime stance.

The U.S. already deported 238 Venezuelans there under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, despite federal judges calling the transfers unlawful and ordering returns.

Trump said he’d be “honored” to send repeat U.S. offenders abroad if legal. Critics, including judges and rights advocates, condemned the plan as unconstitutional and authoritarian.

Legal experts warn no U.S. law permits outsourcing American incarceration, raising serious due process and human rights concerns.

  • Bob Robertson IX @discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    25·
    5 days ago

    Legal experts warn no U.S. law permits outsourcing American incarceration

    More importantly, are there any laws banning outsourcing American incarceration? Because they don’t need a law to allow it, they just there to not be a law banning it.

    • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
      5·
      5 days ago

      More importantly, are there any laws banning outsourcing American incarceration?

      Yes. The US Constitution:

      • Fifth Amendment (prohibits imprisonment without due process and indictment by a grand jury)
      • Sixth Amendment (enumerates rights entailed in due process for any criminal facing prosecution)
      • Eighth Amendment (“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”)

      The Eighth is the most clearly in play, supposing the courts actually follow the US Constitution, which they’ve been flagrantly ignoring for several decades (ex. there is no good faith interpretation of the Fourth Amendment that allows civil asset forfeiture or compelling anyone in the US to unlock a smartphone or surrender it for cloning, nor for the Fifth and Sixth which allow removing individuals to a military base to be held without trial).