Photo: Alamy
Following political murmurings on social media, the Trump administration is doubling down on its stance that addressing illegal immigration remains a top priority.
During a press briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked by a reporter if the president was “still committed” to deporting the millions of illegal immigrants who entered the country under Joe Biden’s leadership.
“Yes, and the president has always been committed to that,” she replied. “…But we must prioritize, and the prioritization is on those tens of thousands of convicted criminals whom we know are still roaming our streets.”
She continued, “ICE and Border Patrol have done a phenomenal job on removing tens of thousands of them…nearly three million people have left the United States.”
The comments come after the president’s appearance on NBC News for an interview in which he touched on the topic of immigration enforcement.
“They have to ask, and they have to say please,” President Trump said, referring to deep-blue mayors and governors who may be resisting federal immigration enforcement. “…I don’t want to go and force ourselves into a city, even if their numbers are terrible.”
He emphasized that his administration was looking at “five cities” to next bring federal immigration enforcement, but noted, “we want to be invited.”
Social media headlines suggested this meant that President Trump was “adjusting” his immigration policy on mass immigration, but the administration’s Rapid Response account on X shot back, “Total Fake News BS. President Trump is talking about National Guard deployments for crime reduction — like the highly successful operations in New Orleans, Memphis, D.C., etc., that were welcomed by their leaders. This has nothing to do with mass deportations.”
However, Secretary Leavitt’s comments narrow the focus a bit and confirm that enforcement operations will indeed continue to prioritize the deportation and arrest of dangerous criminal illegal aliens ahead of other deportations.
She pointed out that “zero illegal aliens” have been released into the interior of the United States over the past nine months. “This is staggering, and it deserves more attention from all of you,” she said.
According to the latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were no illegal entries into the United States for the ninth consecutive month.
There was also an 87 percent reduction in the monthly average of nationwide encounters, and a 93 percent drop in U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions along the Southwest border in January.
