President Donald Trump is considering deporting American criminals to foreign countries if they are “repeat offenders.”
Trump suggested paying other countries a “nominal fee” to take in American repeat offenders, presenting the idea as a cost-saving strategy during a speech to House Republicans in Miami.
“If they’ve been arrested many, many times, they’re repeat offenders by many numbers, I want them out of our country,” he said. “We’re going to get approval, hopefully, to get them the hell out of our country, along with others. Let them be brought to a foreign land and maintained by others for a very small fee.”
According to Trump, his proposal means the government could avoid spending “massive amounts of money” on U.S. jails and private prison companies, which he said “charge us a fortune.”
Trump, a convicted criminal with 24 felonies under his belt, recognized he would need formal approval for the unprecedented strategy.
Donald Trump cited examples of violent crimes committed by repeat offenders, including assaults on elderly citizens. He claimed some violent offenders are walking free even after having “been arrested 30 times, 35 times, 41, 42 times.” Trump argued crime rates would decrease if America sent habitual offenders abroad to live “for a while.”
He stated, “Let them be brought out of our country and let them live there for a while. Let’s see how they like it.”
Jesus Christ. Donald Trump says he wants to be able to deport US citizens.
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) January 28, 2025
He should start with himself.
pic.twitter.com/rhzVbci3Lh
Trump claimed other countries are already engaging in similar practices of sending criminals to the U.S.
Large-scale exile of criminals from Britain to American colonies occurred until the American Revolution in 1775. The British soon began shipping offenders to Australia but outlawed the practice in the 1850s due to reform calls.
Trump distinguished his proposal to exile repeat offenders as separate from current efforts to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records.