Retail sales jump ahead of tariffs
The case for deporting U.S. citizens to a prison in El Salvador: a conservative legal think tank comment on the president’s proposal
President Trump says his administration is looking into sending US citizens with criminal records to prisons in El Salvadoran. Even though jailing Americans overseas is considered unconstitutional, some legal experts think the White House is preparing to move forward with that plan.
“The homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. “We need to build about five more places,” said Trump in reference to prison space that would be needed for U.S. citizens.
The proposal has been decried by legal scholars as an unprecedented encroachment on civil liberties of U.S. citizens.
“It’s obviously unconstitutional, obviously illegal. There is no authority for the US to deport citizens and not to keep them in a foreign country, according to a libertarian think tank.
“The problem of course is [Trump] already has illegally deported hundreds of people by just not giving the courts an opportunity to stop him,” Bier added. I think the real fear is now that he is going to try to avoid judicial review of deportations of U.S. citizens.
NPR contacted three prominent conservative legal scholars. All declined to comment. We inquired about the three conservative legal think tanks. One did not respond and two did not reply.
‘Homegrowns are next’: Trump hopes to deport and jail U.S. citizens abroad in a mega-prison, tweeted Jesse Watters Primetime
“We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee,” Bukele added, posting photographs of densely packed inmates crouched with hands on their heads.
On the same day as his post was amplified, Musk also described the proposal to be a great idea. Speaking about the concept in February, Trump said: “I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
During Monday’s news conference, Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Attorney General to investigate the legality of the idea.
“We have other ones we’re negotiating with as well,” he said. I have no problem if it is a domestic criminal. Now, we’re studying the laws right now — Pam is studying. If we can do it, that’s good.
During an appearance Monday on the Fox News show Jesse Watters Primetime, Bondi seemed to embrace it: “These are Americans who he [President Trump] is saying who have committed the most heinous crimes in our country and crime is going to decrease dramatically.”
According to legal scholars contacted by NPR, the policy idea crossed a bright line in the US government’s treatment of American citizens.
Lauren-Brooke Eisen is Senior Director of the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, a progressive think tank at New York University. “There are profound ethical questions that this move would signal about how we treat human beings who are U.S. citizens. Courts will almost certainly prevent this from happening.”
In a letter sent to the U.S. State Department in February, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia, urged the Trump administration to abandon the idea.
Source: ‘Homegrowns are next’: Trump hopes to deport and jail U.S. citizens abroad
Enforcing Legal Perturbations in U.S. Prisons: The Case Against the Trump-President’s Proposal
Ossoff cited horrendous living conditions documented in Salvadoran prisons, where inmates often lack access to proper sanitation, temperature control and even potable water.
“You can’t deport a U.S. citizen if you don’t want to,” Gelernt told NPR in February. “The courts have not allowed that, and they would not allow it.”
“The President has discussed this idea quite a few times publicly, he’s also discussed it privately,” she said at the White House press briefing April 8.
If it’s legal, the President has said so. If there is a legal pathway to do that, he’s not sure, we are not sure, it’s an idea he has simply floated and has discussed,” Leavitt added.
Some judges and legal scholars are clearly concerned the Trump administration could move forward with the proposal despite legal and constitutional barriers.
Justice Sotomayor says the US government could deport any person, even U.S. citizens, without legal consequence if it wanted to.
“Anything from being a citizen or non-citizen of the U.S., to being born in the U.S., or even from Venezuela, and any of us can be vulnerable to being kidnapped by masked agents of the United States government.”
During World War II, the internment of about 100,000 Japanese Americans, and the confinement of American citizens without trial after being accused of terrorism activities, were some of the ways that American citizens have been imprisoned.
Some legal experts interviewed for a story said that deporting Americans to foreign countries would strip them of their legal rights, since they’d be forced to serve time there.
They noted that this proposal is also being explored by U.S. officials at a time when Trump has talked about “locking up” his political enemies, directing the Justice Department and the FBI to open criminal probes into opponents’ activities.
Bier, at the Cato Institute, said he has been “shocked” by the lack of pushback against Trump’s proposal from Republican leaders and members of the conservative legal movement.
The World Painted Lady Migration Project: From 2021 to 2024, Poems with Life Kit Share How You Can Connect with Poetry
A good poem can help you to process feelings of sadness, anger, or fear and can also bring joy. However, connecting with these emotions may be more challenging if you haven’t engaged with poetry in some time. In honor of National Poetry Month, the poets with Life Kit shared some tips on how you can connect with this art form.
Over millions of years, painted lady butterflies traveled thousands of miles across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. For the first time, an international team of scientists known as the Worldwide Painted Lady Migration Project has traced their migration route. Over the past decade, the team has identified 10 generations of butterflies during their annual migration cycle. From 2021 to 2024, photographer Lucas Foglia accompanied the scientists on their journey across continents, capturing images of the researchers and the butterflies they were studying. The journey is documented in Foglia’s book.
The index went down nearly 700 points yesterday. However, Americans’ feeling gloomier about the economy hasn’t stopped people from spending money. A surge in retail sales last month was a result of people rushing to buy stuff before the new tariffs kick in.
A good morning before the planes turn round: The case of Tren de Aragua, a former Venezuelan gang of 1798
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled yesterday that the Trump administration “demonstrated willful disregard” for a court order and is likely in criminal contempt. The government failed to comply with the orders of the judge to turn the planes around as they were carrying people to a prison. On March 15, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged members of the Venezuela gang Tren de Aragua. On the same day, dozens of men were loaded onto two planes and sued after they were made aware. The order to return the planes was made that night during an emergency hearing.
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