Shipping People Off Doesn’t Solve Anything
I do not like the way this is going. I remember growing up in a neighborhood where one fellow who lived a block away was shipped off for ten years. We were told he went insane one evening, but he came back quieter, older, and pretty broken. The prison did not fix him, it simply paused his life for a while, and so when I listen to a president, of all people, talk about sending American citizens to foreign prisons, it feels kinda off to me.
When Trump says "homegrowns are next" as a joke, it doesn't sound like policy, it sounds like a threat, and sure, people did laugh, but when you think about it, that makes it all the worse. Because if jokes like these are met with nods and laughter in seats of power, they're no longer jokes, they're agendas.
I understand crime happens.
Human beings do terrible things, and there is punishment, but when you start to think about sending American citizens overseas to other prison systems, it is no longer justice, it is exile and exile is not law and order it is erasure. Some people will say it’s a bluff, and maybe it is, but I’ve learned to take powerful people seriously when they speak casually because casual words become policy drafts, then they become proposals, then they become normalized.
The horrifying gets bureaucratic.
I just can't stop thinking about that term "homegrown," man that label's always been elusive. What does it mean when the state gets to decide who's "grown from home" and who gets to remain? I've witnessed neighborhoods that have been deemed as problematic due to the way rowdy their kids are, or what their cars look like, or how they look, so yeah, I don't believe in the way that label would be used.
And Bukele's response, "we've got space," only makes the proposal sound more plausible, as if already something is already in the making. I don't know, maybe it's all politically staged or just me being too paranoid.
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I mean in the U.S., the rules are pretty simple. if you are a U.S. citizen (via birth or naturalization), then you cannot be deported (though certainly you can be imprisoned for committing crimes). If you are not, then you can be deported under certain circumstances. The U.S. government cannot send U.S. citizens to prisons in other countries for crimes committed here (though extradition may apply if an American citizens commit crimes in other countries).
Like this one guy that has been in the news a lot lately for some reason that was deported to El Salvador (where he is a citizen). He was in this country illegally, has been determined to be a member of the gang MS-13, and has a known violent history (his wife has had two restraining orders against him for instance). Deporting him is clearly the right thing to do. He has had his due process (has been in front of an immigration judge and had an appeal). There is nothing nefarious about deporting this guy and in fact is something that gets done all the time since long before Trump came into office. The fact that this is a story at all seems a little odd. Well, not really...such coverage is clearly politically motivated.
Now Trump, speaking specifically of the CECOT prison in El Salvador has said "I'm just saying if we had a legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat," regarding sending U.S. citizens who have been convicted of violent crimes. However, the fact is that he does not have the legal right (I mean a court would have to ultimately decide that if he tried it but it is highly unlikely).
Keep in mind also that it is not usually the Federal government prosecuting violent crimes, it's usually the state and Trump and the Federal government doesn't even have jurisdiction in those cases.
Violent crimes at the Federal level include things like terrorism, threats against federal officials or infrastructure, kidnapping across state or international lines, use of weapons of mass destruction, use of a firearm during a violent drug trafficking crime, human trafficking and other crimes that extend beyond state boundaries.
You have many rights in the U.S. but you lose many of them upon conviction of a crime. While I don't think our government should be able to send U.S. citizens to prisons outside the country, it would also be hard to sympathize with someone convicted of, for example, human trafficking as i think a firing squad would be a better sentence. In fact, the death penalty can apply at the Federal level for some of these crimes (these mostly fall under the category of "murder with aggravating circumstances" in situations that would apply at the Federal level). I would rather see violent criminals imprisoned outside the country than not imprisoned at all though neither extreme should be necessary. "Exile" is less of an erasure than execution and I'm not sure that both can't be "justice" under the right circumstances. We aren't talking about transporting prisoners to Van Diemen's land for stealing a loaf of bread, we are talking about ways to protect society from rapists, murderers, and others that would commit violent assault.
You've got a solid point, and I'm thankful you took the time to explain the situation in detail and with facts. I think this comment should be a whole blog for others to read and be well informed. Thank you