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Legal scholars, civil liberties advocates, and immigration experts are raising red flags over President Donald Trump’s latest proposal: deporting U.S. citizens convicted of crimes to El Salvador, where they would be imprisoned indefinitely.
The idea, discussed publicly during a White House meeting Monday with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, represents a seismic shift in U.S. legal norms—potentially stripping citizens of their rights and sending them abroad without trial or appeal.
“I’d like to include them,” Trump said of American criminals, suggesting the same process used to deport alleged gang members could apply to citizens. “We always have to obey the laws, but we also have homegrown criminals…”
Legal Experts: “Pretty Obviously Illegal”
Constitutional scholars were quick to denounce the proposal.
“It is pretty obviously illegal and unconstitutional,” said Ilya Somin, law professor at George Mason University.
“There is no authority in U.S. law to deport American citizens to foreign imprisonment,” added David Bier, an immigration policy expert at the Cato Institute.
Even in extreme cases—such as invoking the Alien Enemies Act—the Supreme Court has affirmed that U.S. citizens cannot be removed from the country without due process. The concern, experts argue, is not just about legality, but the precedent it sets.
“Exiling someone is not permissible as part of the bundle of rights that are fundamental to citizenship,” said Anthony Kreis, law professor at Georgia State University.
Deportation Without Due Process: A Dangerous Trend
The proposal comes as Trump defends the government’s controversial deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man never convicted of a crime and alleged—without court adjudication—to be a gang member. Despite a judge’s order to return him, the Trump administration claimed it lacked jurisdiction, leaving El Salvador in control of his fate.
This has heightened fears that U.S. citizens could face the same fate.
“The implication of the government’s position is that… United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes, and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a recent opinion.
“They Will Never Leave”
According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Bukele assured her that those sent to the infamous Salvadoran prison “will never leave.” Advocates worry this policy could turn into extrajudicial life sentences in a foreign nation—without a judge or jury.
The White House and Department of Justice have not clarified whether the proposal would apply to naturalized citizens only, who can lose citizenship in rare cases of fraud, or to birthright citizens as well.
With Trump claiming Attorney General Pam Bondi is “studying the law,” many fear that even the bare minimum of due process may soon be discarded in favor of expedient political spectacle.
Critics Warn of Authoritarian Overreach
Experts say the very notion of deporting American citizens evokes the darkest chapters of history, including the British practice of banishing colonists, one of the original grievances that fueled the American Revolution.
“The courts must shut down this unconstitutional train wreck before U.S. citizens are unlawfully caught up in it,” Bier warned.
Bottom Line: Trump’s bold suggestion to deport American citizens to El Salvador without trial or legal recourse is legally dubious, constitutionally dangerous, and historically unprecedented. Legal observers fear that if allowed to stand, it could usher in a new era of authoritarian government power—one that renders citizenship itself subject to executive whim.
