Trump, Bukele Discuss Deportation Flights to El Salvador
Trump, Bukele Discuss Deportation Flights to El Salvador
Bukele has played an integral role in the White House’s migration crackdown.
U.S. President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele during a meeting at the White House in Washington on April 14. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to the White House on Monday. Their meeting centered on bolstering migration cooperation, with Trump saying that he is open to sending U.S. citizens to prisons in El Salvador if they commit violent acts—though immigration experts say there is no legal way for the Trump administration to do so. “You gotta build about five more places,” Trump told Bukele, indicating that El Salvador’s current mega-prison will not be large enough for Trump’s plans.
Last month, Trump invoked the wartime 1798 Alien Enemies Act to send hundreds of migrants allegedly part of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador, where they were then placed in the country’s notorious mega-prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Since then, several deportation flights have occurred, with the latest carrying 10 alleged gang members to CECOT over the weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to the White House on Monday. Their meeting centered on bolstering migration cooperation, with Trump saying that he is open to sending U.S. citizens to prisons in El Salvador if they commit violent acts—though immigration experts say there is no legal way for the Trump administration to do so. “You gotta build about five more places,” Trump told Bukele, indicating that El Salvador’s current mega-prison will not be large enough for Trump’s plans.
Last month, Trump invoked the wartime 1798 Alien Enemies Act to send hundreds of migrants allegedly part of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador, where they were then placed in the country’s notorious mega-prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Since then, several deportation flights have occurred, with the latest carrying 10 alleged gang members to CECOT over the weekend.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg initially ordered the White House to stop these flights, citing lack of transparency concerns. Human Rights Watch has condemned the administration’s actions, calling the flights “enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention” to a prison “known for its abusive conditions.”
When Trump was pressed on Monday about alleged human rights abuses at CECOT, he responded with: “I don’t see it. I don’t see that happening.” The U.S. president remains a close ally and admirer of Bukele, saying on Sunday that “I think he’s doing a fantastic job. He’s taking care of a lot of problems that we have.”
Read more in today’s World Brief: Trump Again Floats Deporting U.S. Citizens to El Salvador During Bukele Meeting.
This post is part of FP’s ongoing coverage of the Trump administration. Follow along here.
Alexandra Sharp is the World Brief writer at Foreign Policy. X: @AlexandraSSharp
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