Trump administration to study legality of El Salvador offer to host US prisoners
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After meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (above), El Salvador's President on Feb 3 offered the US “the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SAN JOSE – The Trump administration is assessing whether it could take up El Salvador’s offer to house US citizens convicted of crimes in its jails, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Feb 4, despite the apparent illegality of such a move.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Feb 3 offered the US “the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system”, he said on social media platform X after meeting Mr Rubio.
When asked about the proposal during a news conference in Costa Rica on Feb 4, Mr Rubio called it “an incredible offer, an unprecedented one”.
He said: “Obviously, we’ll have to study it on our end; there are obviously legalities involved. We have a Constitution, we have all sorts of things, but it’s a very generous offer.”
The US Constitution provides protections for citizens. Courts have ruled that Americans cannot be stripped of their citizenship for committing crimes, meaning they cannot be deported.
President Donald Trump later said he would enact the plan “in a heartbeat” if he had the legal right to do so and added that it would be cheaper than holding inmates in private US prisons.
“We’re looking at that right now, but we could make deals where we’d get these animals out of our country,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.
Mr Trump himself suggested in January that the US could pay foreign countries “a very small fee” to imprison Americans who are repeat criminal offenders, billing the idea as a cost-saving measure.
As well as the legal question, the plan would also likely face opposition due to the conditions in El Salvador’s jails.
The US State Department’s website says prison conditions in El Salvador are “harsh and dangerous” and notes risks from overcrowding.
Mr Bukele has launched an unflinching security crackdown in his country, arresting more than 80,000 people and bringing the number of homicides down sharply.
He offered the US use of his Terrorism Confinement Centre mega-prison for both foreign and US criminals for a fee.
Since taking office on Jan 20, the Trump administration has stepped up the number of migrants the US deports to Latin America, including using military planes for repatriation flights.
On his X platform on the night of Feb 3, Mr Elon Musk, the billionaire heading Mr Trump’s drive to shrink the federal government and cut costs, called Mr Bukele’s proposal a “great idea!!” REUTERS
