"I love that idea" - Trump confirms plans to send American citizens to El Salvador's notorious prisons
The White House just confirmed your worst nightmare about Trump's second term.
In a development that sounds more like dystopian fiction than reality, President Trump's administration has confirmed they are actively considering sending American citizens to El Salvador's notorious prison system.
The bombshell confirmation came from White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt during a routine briefing when she casually acknowledged that the president has discussed this plan "both publicly and privately."
This wasn't some off-hand comment or misinterpretation. When directly asked about sending American citizens to foreign prisons, Leavitt confirmed the administration is seriously exploring the option.
The revelation comes just days after Trump himself responded enthusiastically when El Salvador's president suggested housing U.S. prisoners in his country's infamous detention facilities - facilities known for extreme overcrowding, human rights abuses, and brutal conditions.
"I love that," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
What makes this situation even more alarming is the timing. Just one day before the White House confirmation, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a chilling warning about the legal implications of the administration's position in the current Alien Enemies Act case.
"The implication of the Government's position is that not only noncitizens but also United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes, and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress if judicial review is denied unlawfully before removal," Sotomayor wrote.
She continued with words that should send shivers down every American's spine: "History is no stranger to such lawless regimes, but this Nation's system of laws is designed to prevent, not enable, their rise."
The White House confirmation has sent shockwaves through legal and human rights communities. Two distinguished law professors published an op-ed in the New York Times with the stark warning: "We should all be very, very afraid."
This development comes amid an ongoing crisis involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the administration admits it deported to El Salvador in error. Despite acknowledging the mistake, the Justice Department has filed what observers describe as "sneering" arguments with the Supreme Court, fighting against retrieving him.
Meanwhile, the administration continues its aggressive implementation of the Alien Enemies Act, with advocates for Venezuelan nationals swept up in the dragnet rushing back to court following Monday's Supreme Court setback.
The situation has escalated so rapidly that Judge Jamee Comans in Louisiana has given the administration until 5 p.m. today to provide evidence for why Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil should be deported, stating bluntly that if he's "not removable, I'm going to terminate this case on Friday."
These developments are occurring against a backdrop of widespread purges of federal workers, with the Supreme Court recently blocking a lower court order that would have required the administration to rehire some 16,000 probationary federal government workers who were removed.
The administration's hostility extends beyond policy to personal interactions, with officials reportedly refusing to answer questions from journalists whose email signatures include pronouns.
As one legal expert put it: "We're no longer sliding down the slippery slope. We're in free fall.
