Trump Wants to Deport Americans to Foreign Prisons—Yes, Really

“The homegrowns are next,” Trump told El Salvador’s president in a chilling off-mic moment.

In what might be the most dystopian buddy comedy of 2025, Donald Trump stood shoulder-to-shoulder with El Salvador’s authoritarian-leaning president Nayib Bukele and casually floated the idea of deporting American citizens to foreign prisons. And not just any prisons—El Salvador’s infamous mega-prisons, known for their brutal conditions, mass detainment, and long list of human rights violations.

The moment was caught on Bukele’s own livestream, just before the White House press pool even entered the room.

Let that sink in: The president of the United States suggested sending American citizens to foreign prisons. On camera. Casually. Like he was talking about ordering McDonalds.

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One of those prisons, CECOT, is already holding Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran man who lived in Maryland for 15 years and was granted protection by a U.S. immigration judge. The Trump administration deported him anyway. The Supreme Court ordered his return. Trump ignored it.

And when Bukele visited the Oval Office, Trump’s team said it was up to El Salvador. Bukele flat-out refused to release him.

My fear? García isn’t coming home, because he may not even be alive.

Nothing screams “law and order” like defying a Supreme Court ruling and leaving a man to rot in a foreign mega-prison, while publicly fantasizing about sending American citizens there.

Ummm, Constitutional crisis, anyone? Or is that just Monday now?

Welcome to the Banana Republic of MAGA

During Bukele's Oval Office visit, Trump was asked whether the U.S. would fund the prisons El Salvador is building to house migrants deported from the U.S. His response?

That alone is concerning. A sitting U.S. president praising the prison infrastructure of a regime known for rounding up tens of thousands of people without trial is…not a great look. But then Trump went full autocrat cosplay.

And almost as an afterthought, Trump adds, “But you’ll have to be looking at the laws on that.” Oh good, glad we're checking in with the Constitution...after proposing exile.

Quick Legal Check: You Can’t Do That

Legal scholars didn’t waste time pointing out that this proposal is, in fact, not legal. The United States cannot forcibly remove American citizens—even criminal ones—and imprison them in foreign countries.

There’s no law. No precedent. Not even a crack in the Constitution wide enough to squeeze this through.

Unless we’ve suddenly become the plot of a rejected Black Mirror episode, Trump can’t round up U.S. citizens and ship them off to El Salvador just because he doesn’t like them, or, in his words, thinks they’re “monsters.”

It’s like if Guantanamo Bay and The Hunger Games had a baby, and then Trump asked Bukele to babysit.

MAGA’s Authoritarian Drift

This isn’t a one-off Trumpism. It’s part of a broader authoritarian shift that’s getting harder to laugh off. From promising mass deportations to retribution against his political enemies, Trump has made it increasingly clear: he doesn’t just want to punish people—he wants to make a spectacle of it.

Sending U.S. citizens to foreign prisons isn’t about justice. It’s about cruelty. It’s about showmanship. And it's about creating a system where fear replaces law.

Bukele, for his part, didn’t flinch. After all, Trump was praising his mega-prisons—the same ones condemned by international human rights groups for overcrowding, torture, and lack of due process.

Trump Meant Every Word

Trump’s message is clear: If you’re poor, foreign, have tattoos, or even just unlucky enough to commit a crime on American soil, he’s ready to treat you like garbage. Now he wants to add “exporting” American citizens to that list.

And remember, this wasn’t leaked audio. It wasn’t a gaffe. It wasn’t taken out of context. It was on video. In public. And proudly declared by a sitting U.S. president for the world to see.

The only thing more chilling than those words…is how many people are cheering them on but let’s see if the applause holds up when the unmarked van comes for them.