GOP Senators Reject Trump's Idea to Send U.S. Offenders to Foreign Prisons: 'I Can't Imagine You Can Deport a Citizen'

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Some Republican senators are rejecting President Donald Trump's proposal to send U.S. citizens convicted of crimes to foreign prisons, arguing it would violate the Constitution and pose serious legal and ethical concerns.

Trump floated the idea in March during an Oval Office appearance with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, suggesting that "homegrown" criminals could be shipped to prisons like El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was among the most direct in his response, telling The Hill:

"I'm not sure that would be constitutional. You're talking about American citizens? I doubt that would hold up as something constitutional"

Paul underscored the constitutional issues at play, noting that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee due process rights to all persons, not just citizens. "I can't imagine you can deport a citizen," he added. "I don't think you can incarcerate a citizen in another country, either."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) pointed to the constitutional limits of presidential authority, saying that "either he's got the authority to do it, or it isn't going to happen. But it sounds to me like you can't deport citizens." Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a frequent Trump ally, said plainly: "I doubt that would hold up as something constitutional."

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) echoed those concerns in a recent interview with NBC's Meet the Press, dismissing the idea outright:

"We have our own laws. We have the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. We shouldn't send prisoners to foreign countries, in my judgment"

Despite the widespread GOP opposition in the Senate, House Republicans have taken a different approach. In a recent House Judiciary Committee markup of immigration-related legislation, Republican members voted down multiple Democratic amendments that would have prohibited the deportation of U.S. citizens and affirmed due process protections, as a report by Forbes points out.

One such amendment, offered by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), read: "None of the funds made available by this subtitle may be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain or deport a United States citizen." Republicans rejected it without debate.

In a recent interview with TIME Magazine, Trump acknowledged the legal obstacles but signaled intent to pursue the idea, saying, "I would love to do that if it were permissible by law. We're looking into that." Still, he added, "I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said."