U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday avoided questions about President Donald Trump’s latest proposal. He suggested sending violent American citizens to El Salvador. According to legal experts, this idea clearly violates the law.
Trump Makes Controversial Suggestion
On Monday, Trump met El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office. During the meeting, he proposed that the U.S. should deport its violent criminals to El Salvador. This Central American country already accepts undocumented migrants deported from the U.S. and keeps them in a large prison. However, many reports highlight serious human rights violations in that facility.
Trump Points to Violent Offenders
Trump explained that people who attack strangers in subways or assault old women should face tougher consequences. Therefore, he suggested they could be sent to El Salvador and locked up there.
Bondi Refuses to Confirm Legality
Later, Fox News host Jesse Watters asked Bondi if this proposal was legal. However, she chose not to give a direct answer.
“These are Americans who he is saying have committed the most heinous crimes in our country, and crime is going to decrease dramatically because he has given us a directive to make America safe again,” she said.
“These people need to be locked up as long as they can be, as long as the law allows. We’re not going to let them go anywhere, and if we have to build more prisons in our country, we will do it.”
White House Defends the Statement
Earlier, Trump said he “loved” the idea of deporting U.S. citizens to El Salvador. Later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that Trump had “simply floated” the idea.
At a briefing on Tuesday, reporters asked Leavitt if the plan was legal. In response, she said, “It’s a legal question that the president is looking into.”
Moreover, she added that Trump was only considering this option for Americans who are “the most violent, egregious repeat offenders.”
