GOP Sen. John Kennedy says Trump administration should not send Americans to foreign prisons

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pushed back Sunday on President Donald Trump’s expressed interest in sending U.S. citizens who commit crimes to prisons abroad.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pushed back Sunday on President Donald Trump’s expressed interest in sending U.S. citizens who commit crimes to prisons abroad.

Asked on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” if he believes the law allows Trump to send domestic criminals to foreign prisons, Kennedy said, “No, Ma’am,” adding: “We have our own laws. We have the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. We shouldn’t send prisoners to foreign countries, in my judgment.”

His remarks come after Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that his administration is “looking into” the possibility of sending what he called “homegrown criminals” to foreign prisons.

“I call them homegrown criminals. I mean the home — the homegrown ones, the ones that grew up and something went wrong,” Trump said, adding: “We are looking into it and we want to do it. I would love to do that.”

Kennedy also spoke to moderator Kristen Welker about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who the Trump administration admits was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, even as it alleges that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang. (Abrego Garcia’s wife and attorneys deny the allegation.)