El Salvador has made an unprecedented offer to the U.S., agreeing to house violent U.S. criminals and deportees of any nationality.
“In an act of extraordinary friendship to our country … (El Salvador) has agreed to the most unprecedented and extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world,” Rubio told reporters Monday after meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
The country will continue accepting Salvadoran deportees who illegally entered the U.S., he said. It will also “accept for deportation any illegal alien in the United States who is a criminal from any nationality, be they MS-13 or Tren de Aragua and house them in his jails.”
Bukele also agreed that the South American country would house “dangerous American criminals in custody in our country, including those of US citizenship and legal residents.” According to Bukele, the U.S. would pay a fee that “would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.”
We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 4, 2025
We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee.
The fee would be relatively low for… pic.twitter.com/HTNwtp35Aq
The announcement has sparked backlash, with many critics and lawmakers stating that deporting U.S. citizens would be an illegal move and would most certainly be challenged in court.
Since taking office in 2019, Bukele has significantly reduced gang violence in the country but, much like President Trump, has minimal regard for any civil rights laws. Trump has steamrolled ahead with his campaign promise of “mass deportations,” which has sparked fear in millions of undocumented immigrants and even legal residents.
In a controversial move, the Trump administration has officially rescinded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 350,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S. That means in just 60 days, their legal protection from deportation—and the work permits that come with it—will vanish, leaving thousands in limbo. The administration is also setting its sights on rolling back protections for Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who came to the U.S. through a sponsorship program introduced under Biden. Behind closed doors, officials are cooking up plans to strip them of their legal status.
