President Donald Trump has threatened to exile those who repeat criminal offenses, arguing that it would cost less for the taxpayer.
Trump was inaugurated for a second time on January 20, and he has wasted no time in implementing some changes.
On his first day alone he made some huge decisions like leaving the World Health Organization and cracking down on undocumented immigration.
Although has has pardoned 1500 people who were convicted of crimes at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, he appears to be coming down hard on other criminals.
Trump suggested on Monday that the United States could pay a “small fee” to foreign countries to house repeat criminal offenders, a proposal reminiscent of historical penal colonies.
Trump presented the idea as a cost-saving measure during remarks at a conference for House Republicans in Miami, per NBC News.
“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, such a policy would reduce the financial burden on the federal government by avoiding the expense of incarcerating repeat offenders in U.S. jails.
“We’re not going to use our jails for massive amounts of money,” he said, criticizing private prisons as entities that “charge us a fortune”.
Trump clarified that the proposal was distinct from current efforts to deport undocumented migrants with criminal records.
He acknowledged that such a plan would require official approval.
Historically, Britain transported convicts to the American colonies until the American Revolution, after which Australia became the primary destination for exiled prisoners.
The proposal aligns with the Trump administration’s broader push to reduce federal spending.
His newly established “Department of Government Efficiency,” led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has already claimed to have saved more than $560 million by cutting programs, contracts, and leases.
It remains unclear what prompted Trump’s suggestion to exile U.S. citizens to foreign prisons. However, he cited cases of violent offenders who, despite numerous arrests, remain free to commit crimes.
He listed crimes such as pushing people into subway tracks, assaulting individuals with baseball bats, and attacking elderly citizens.
Trump asserted that crime rates would decline if offenders were sent abroad. “Let them be brought out of our country and let them live there for a while,” he said. “Let’s see how they like it.”
While Trump did not specify which countries might participate in such a program, he insisted that other nations already employ similar tactics.