President Donald Trump on Monday duplicated his idea to send US citizens to foreign prisons, telling President El Salvador Nayib Bakele that he wanted to send “homemade criminals” to his next country, according to the video posted by the Sukele office in X.
The comment came when Trump welcomed Bukele, a key partner in his migrar deportation, to the White House in the midst of the Supreme Court who said that the government had to “facilitate” the return of a migrant from Maryland who was sent wrong to the famous Mega Salvador prison.
When the two men entered the Oval office, before reporters were allowed in the room, Trump discussed his proposal to send US citizens who were convicted of violence to El Salvador and told Bukele that he needed to build more prisons to accommodate them.
“The next homegrown criminal,” Trump said, according to direct streaming posted by the Sukele office. “I said the next homegrown, Homegrown. You have to build about five more places.”
Bukele was heard responding to “fine” and the others in the room laughed.
“This is not big enough,” Trump added.
President Donald Trump met with President El Salvador Nayib Pukele at the oval office at the White House in Washington, April 14, 2025.
Ken Cedeno/Pool/Epa-Efe/Shutterstock
Trump and various White House officials have repeatedly drifted the ideas to send US citizens to El Salvador and other places – something that said legal experts would be flat inaccurate.
On Monday, during the spray with reporters, Trump said his team “learned” this problem.
“If it is a homemade criminal, I don’t have a problem,” Trump said. “Now we are studying the law now, pam [Bondi] learning. If we can do it, it’s good. “
“And I’m talking about cruel people. I’m talking about people who are truly evil. Evil people. Everyone is as bad as you enter,” he continued.
Bukele first offered to accommodate the cruel US criminals shortly after Trump was inaugurated.
When State Secretary Marco Rubio announced a proposal from Bukele in early February, he called him “extraordinary acts of friendship.” Although at that time, Rubio also noted that there would be a constitutional question about such a step, by saying “explained the legality involved.”
Bukele on Monday said he “really wanted to help” Trump’s administration.
“In fact, Mr. President, you have 350 million people to be released. You know, but to free 350 million people, you have to imprison several,” Bkele said.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.