President Trump said Monday he's open to sending United States citizens to prison in El Salvador, a move that would strain the Constitution and heighten the president's battles with the judiciary branch. He added that the fate of a migrant the U.S. mistakenly deported to El Salvador now rests with that country.
"I'm all for it," Trump said about imprisoning U.S. citizens outside the country, adding the Justice Department is studying the legality of the idea. "If it's a homegrown criminal, I have no problem, no," he said. "I'm talking about violent people. I'm talking about really bad people."
Trump commended visiting Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whose government is earning $6 million to incarcerate hundreds of migrants deported from the United States who are alleged by the administration to be criminal gang members.
Trump, Bukele and Attorney General Pam Bondi said the U.S. and El Salvador are prepared to leave migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia behind bars in his home country because of jurisdictional considerations. Abrego Garcia's lawyer says his client was deported in violation of an earlier court order protecting him from removal.
"Of course, I'm not going to do it," Bukele told reporters, calling the idea of returning Abrego Garcia from El Salvador "preposterous."
"How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don't have the power to return him to the United States," he added.
Trump has shifted his position on Abrego Garcia after initially saying he would abide by a Supreme Court decision.
"If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court," Trump told reporters last week. The high court then backed a lower court ruling that the U.S. return of the father of three.
Trump in the Oval Office on Monday turned to his attorney general to describe the administration's newest position that the president's hands are tied, regardless of rulings by U.S. courts. Bondi said the U.S. will not decide Abrego Garcia's future.
"That's up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That's not up to us. The Supreme Court ruled that if El Salvador wants to return him … we would facilitate it: meaning, provide a plane," Bondi said.
The Hill: In a filing late Monday, the administration sidestepped court questions about its efforts to secure Abrego Garcia.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the Salvadoran president's refusal to return Abrego Garcia "pure nonsense," arguing the Maryland man should be flown back to the U.S. to receive judicial due process "immediately."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told MSNBC his party is trying to publicly press the Trump administration "to comply with the Supreme Court's directive, and the Supreme Court and/or the federal district court actually needs to enforce its order."
▪ The Hill's Niall Stanage in The Memo reports the latest in a deportation case that has roiled the political world.
▪ Lawfare Media: Mixed signals on alleged alien enemies.
Meanwhile, Trump's evolving tariff policies and economic war with China continue to rattle investors and businesses. Analysts say it's difficult to gauge whether the president's tangle of universal, reciprocal and sector-specific tariffs embody Trump's long-term strategy to try to isolate Beijing or will linger as temporary bargaining leverage.
The administration on Monday began the process of placing tariffs on imported semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. China overnight ordered its airlines to stop taking Boeing Co. jet deliveries in the latest evidence the trade divide with the U.S. is expanding. Beijing also wants Chinese carriers to halt any purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from U.S. companies.
Economists warn of rising U.S. inflation, flat-lining consumer confidence and a possible recession resulting from Trump's unilaterally declared trade levies. The financial winners are Wall Street firms that are raking in record trading fees, according to new data.
Kevin Hassett, the president's economic adviser, told CNBC on Monday that more than 10 countries have so far made "amazing" trade-deal offers to the U.S. He said last week that the administration had been approached by 20 countries. No new bilateral trade pacts have been announced. The universal U.S. tariff set by Trump is 10 percent. Additional levies imposed on most goods imported from China total 145 percent.
The Wall Street Journal: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has said trade negotiations with other nations will likely take months, is prioritizing Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Korea among the top targets for deals.
U.S. MANUFACTURING: Nvidia, the world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) computing and headquartered in California, announced Monday it will mass-produce AI supercomputers for the first time, expected in Texas. The made-in-America headline cheered the White House and investors because of intense competition with China over the race to develop AI.
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