Donald Trump has proposed exiling repeat criminal offenders from the U.S., suggesting that foreign countries could house them for a “small fee.” Speaking at a House Republican conference in Miami, Trump said, “If they’ve been arrested many, many times, they’re repeat offenders by many numbers, I want them out of our country.” He added, “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.”
Trump framed the idea as a cost-saving measure, arguing that the federal government spends “massive amounts of money” on U.S. prisons and that private facilities “charge us a fortune.” He clarified that the plan is separate from deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records and is aimed specifically at American citizens who have been arrested multiple times.
While the concept of penal exile has historical precedent, with Britain transporting convicts to Australia and France sending prisoners to Guiana, it is rarely considered in modern democracies. Trump justified the proposal by claiming that many violent offenders are released onto the streets despite being “arrested 30 times” or more. He insisted that sending them abroad would serve as a deterrent, stating, “Let them be brought out of our country and let them live there for a while. Let’s see how they like it.”
The proposal has already sparked significant controversy, with critics questioning its legality and ethical implications. Whether Trump’s administration will pursue formal action on this plan remains to be seen, but it marks yet another bold—and polarizing—policy idea in his second term.
