Trump plans to deport American criminals. But is it legally possible?

President Donald Trump has announced a plan to deport repeat US criminals to foreign countries, one of the many radical ideas he has floated on his return to the White House for a second stint.

Speaking at a recent conference for House Republicans in Miami, Trump suggested sending convicted repeat offenders overseas, claiming it would reduce the US government's burden from the high costs of incarceration.

“If they’ve been arrested many, many times, they’re repeat offenders by many numbers, I want them out of our country,” Trump said during his speech. “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.”

The proposal, which Trump presented as a cost-saving initiative, focuses on reducing the financial burden on US taxpayers.

Trump pointed to the rising costs of maintaining jails, both public and private, which he said "charge us a fortune." He argued that by paying a “small fee” to foreign nations, the US could have these countries take in repeat offenders, offering a cheaper alternative to domestic imprisonment.

But is it legally tenable?

Experts believe Trump’s suggestion of creating a “modern-day penal colony” might be complicated.

Muhammed Demirel, an expert on criminal law at Istanbul University, tells TRT World that “US citizens cannot be deported from the United States”.

Demirel refers to the US Supreme Court decision in Afroyim v. Rusk, where it was established that under the Citizenship Clause of the US Constitution, “a US citizen cannot lose their citizenship unless they voluntarily renounce it, and thus, they cannot be deported under any circumstances.”

Demirel explains that “under the current legal framework, a US citizen cannot be stripped of their citizenship or deported simply for committing a crime,” and stresses that such an action would require a constitutional amendment, which is a “very difficult situation”.

Moreover, Demirel says this is not the case for non-citizen criminals in the US.

He says that “there are already existing regulations that allow the deportation of non-citizens if they commit certain crimes or are sentenced to a significant prison term.”

He points to the Immigration and Nationality Act, where deportation provisions are specifically outlined for foreigners, stating that “non-citizens who commit certain crimes, violate visa terms, or raise national security concerns can be deported according to the law.”

“The title of the section itself is ‘Deportable Aliens,’” said Demirel.

Trump is now focused on deporting illegal immigrants more than ever.

In his first days back in office, Trump signed executive orders that would give US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) greater authority to act in sensitive areas, expand the pool of undocumented immigrants subject to fast-track deportation, and even attempt to end birthright citizenship—policies that have faced considerable legal and political opposition from Democrat-led states and constitutional experts.

On his second day in office, Trump has already moved forward with a series of executive orders aimed at cracking down on undocumented migrants in the US, a cornerstone of his second-term immigration policy.

While Trump has promised “mass deportations” and arrests, his administration is still working to implement many of these actions.

Deporting non-citizen criminals

In a new development on January 29, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at expanding detention and deportation authority for certain non-US citizens.

The law, named after a slain Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley, mandates that irregular immigrants involved in crimes such as theft or violent offences be detained and deported, even before a conviction is secured.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Trump also announced plans to open a new detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are living illegally in the United States and cannot be deported to their home countries.

“We’re going to send them out to Guantanamo,” the president stated.

The Guantanamo centre will house individuals detained under the new provisions of the Laken Riley Act, which has been touted as a response to the killing of Laken Riley by an undocumented immigrant. Jose Antonio Ibarra, the perpetrator, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life without parole in November 2024.

The law, passed with bipartisan support in both the Senate and House of Representatives, gives the Department of Homeland Security greater powers to detain certain non-US nationals arrested for specific crimes.

Prior precedents of deporting citizens

While Trump’s suggestion of deporting US citizens to foreign countries remains legally unfeasible under current law, the announcement of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre adds a new layer to his administration’s immigration policy.

Critics of the plan have questioned the ethics of detaining thousands of people indefinitely and whether such measures violate human rights.

Trump’s proposal, although unrelated to the Laken Riley Act, still brings up echoes of historical instances of sending criminals abroad, such as Britain’s practice of transporting convicts to the American colonies in the 18th century, a practice that was later moved to Australia under British rule.

The latest update underscores how the administration's approach to immigration continues to push the boundaries of both legal precedent and international norms.