'You may not deport a US citizen — period': Attorney condemns idea to send prisoners to El Salvador

It would be illegal to send a U.S. citizen to prison in El Salvador, an attorney confirmed to NPR on Wednesday. Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele has suggested bringing people incarcerated in U.S. prisons -- both citizens and migrants -- to El Salvador, something Secretary of State Marco Rubio called “a very generous offer.”

Trump was enthusiastic about the idea. "It's no different than a prison system, except it would be a lot less expensive," he said. "And it would be a great deterrent -- send them to other countries.”

"We'll have to find that out legally. I'm just saying if we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat," he added. "I don't know if we do or not, we're looking at that right now."

READ MORE: US official: 'No current plans' to deport US citizens as Rubio says 'we can send them' to Salvadoran jail

Bukele, who dubbed himself “the world’s coolest dictator,” created a mega-prison in 2022 where many of the people incarcerated are being held without due process. In an attempt to combat gang activity, more than 84,000 people have been arrested since March 2022, according to the Associated Press. The prison can hold 40,000 people, who are confined to cells that hold about 70 prisoners each. They are not allowed to have visitors or spend time outside.

“We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee. The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable,” Bukele posted on X.

This proposal is illegal, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told NPR. "You may not deport a U.S. citizen, period. The courts have not allowed that, and they would not allow it."

Gelernt is deputy director of the civil rights organization’s Immigrants' Rights Project.

READ MORE: Activists warn of 'massive human rights violations' as El Salvador battles its gang crisis

It would be difficult, though not impossible, to send non-citizens to Salvadoran prisons. "Congress has put in very careful safeguards for when a non-citizen can be sent back to a country other than their own," Gelernt said. "There has to be an agreement with this third country, and there has to be a clear sense that the person is not going to be in danger in that country, and they have to be able to challenge being sent to another country."

He added that he did not think the move would meet the requirement that the deported person not be exposed to persecution or torture. "We would have grave concerns if non-citizens are being sent to El Salvador,” he said.