US President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated the idea of deporting US citizens who commit crimes, a proposal that legal experts say could violate the Constitution.
During a visit to a migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, Trump claimed that some immigrants who are now US citizens have committed serious offenses.
"They're not new to our country. They're old to our country. Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters,according to ABC News. "So maybe that will be the next job."
Trump admitted he was unsure of the legal basis for his proposal.
"We'll have to find that out legally. I'm just saying if we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat," he added. "I don't know if we do or not, we're looking at that right now."
The comments come just weeks after assistant attorney general Brett Shumate, a Trump appointee, issued a memo encouraging US attorneys to pursue denaturalisation cases that align with the administration’s policy goals.
The memo listed individuals involved in crimes such as torture, war crimes, human trafficking and human rights violations as key targets.
Legal experts have pushed back, warning that deporting natural-born or naturalised citizens based solely on criminal activity could breach constitutional protections , particularly the Eighth Amendment , which bans cruel and unusual punishment, reported ABC News.
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia, told ABC News that naturalised citizens can only be stripped of their status in specific cases, such as if they committed fraud during the naturalization process or engaged in acts like treason.
“An unrelated crime could not be the basis for denaturalising and deporting somebody," said Frost.
Trump visited the “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center in Florida. While critics have described the facility as “inhumane” due to the administration’s tough immigration policies, the president leaned into the controversy during the center’s official opening.
During a visit to a migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, Trump claimed that some immigrants who are now US citizens have committed serious offenses.
"They're not new to our country. They're old to our country. Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters,according to ABC News. "So maybe that will be the next job."
Trump admitted he was unsure of the legal basis for his proposal.
"We'll have to find that out legally. I'm just saying if we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat," he added. "I don't know if we do or not, we're looking at that right now."
The comments come just weeks after assistant attorney general Brett Shumate, a Trump appointee, issued a memo encouraging US attorneys to pursue denaturalisation cases that align with the administration’s policy goals.
The memo listed individuals involved in crimes such as torture, war crimes, human trafficking and human rights violations as key targets.
Legal experts have pushed back, warning that deporting natural-born or naturalised citizens based solely on criminal activity could breach constitutional protections , particularly the Eighth Amendment , which bans cruel and unusual punishment, reported ABC News.
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia, told ABC News that naturalised citizens can only be stripped of their status in specific cases, such as if they committed fraud during the naturalization process or engaged in acts like treason.
“An unrelated crime could not be the basis for denaturalising and deporting somebody," said Frost.
Trump visited the “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center in Florida. While critics have described the facility as “inhumane” due to the administration’s tough immigration policies, the president leaned into the controversy during the center’s official opening.
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