Trump Signals Support for Sending US Prisoners to Foreign Countries

‘We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system,’ El Salvador President Nayib Bukele stated on X.

President Trump listens after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 3, 2025. The Canadian Press/AP/Evan Vucci

As the work gets underway to send illegal immigrant prisoners to prisons outside of the United States, President Donald Trump has signaled his support for also exporting prisoners who are American citizens.

“We’re talking about getting the criminals out of our country that come in through other countries illegally, right? The illegal migrants, as I call them,” he said to members of the press in the Oval Office on Feb. 4. “Well, we have people that are just as bad as them in our country. If we could get them out, I'd be very happy.”