GOP senator says Trump shouldn't send Americans to foreign prisons: 'We have our own laws' [View all]

Source: The Hill

04/20/25 1:26 PM ET


Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said on Sunday he does not think the law would allow President Trump to send United States citizens convicted of violent crimes to Salvadoran prisons, despite the president’s suggestion that he might be open to that possibility.

“No, ma’am. Nor should it be considered appropriate or moral,” Kennedy told NBC News’s Kristen Welker when asked on “Meet the Press” whether he thinks such a move would be legal.

“We have our own laws,” he continued. “We have the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. We shouldn’t send prisoners to foreign countries in my judgment.”

Trump, in a meeting Monday with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, indicated he would be open to sending American citizens who are violent criminals to El Salvador to be held in a notorious prison there. He told reporters that Attorney General Pam Bondi is looking into the law on the matter.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5257772-gop-senator-trump-shouldnt-send-americans-to-foreign-prisons/