Karoline Leavitt (00:00):
Good to see you bright and early on this Monday morning. As you know, this week marks the first 100 days of the Trump presidency and President Trump's first 100 days have undoubtedly been the most monumental and historic of any administration in American history.
(00:18)
President Trump has already delivered on hundreds of promises he made to the American people, and we will continue to talk about all of them throughout this week. Tomorrow I will host a press briefing at this same time, bright and early again to highlight the Trump administration's economic accomplishments with our Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant.
(00:38)
And tomorrow night, President Trump will travel to Michigan to discuss all that he has achieved on behalf of the American people. On Wednesday, the president will host an open press cabinet meeting where each cabinet member will discuss their success thus far and their plans for the future.
(00:55)
Today we kick off 100-day week with a focus on the President's historic effort to secure our southern border. Later this afternoon, President Trump will sign an executive order on Law and Order, and another executive order on Sanctuary Cities. The first EO will strengthen and unleash America's law enforcement to pursue criminals and protect innocent citizens.
(01:16)
The second EO is centered around protecting American communities from criminal aliens, and it will direct the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to publish a list of state and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws. After these are signed, the president will have signed more than 140 executive orders already rapidly approaching the total numbers signed by the Biden administration over the course of four years in office.
(01:44)
Speaking of Joe Biden, it was his awful open border policies that recklessly allowed more than 10 million illegal aliens to invade the United States over the past four years. Innocent Americans like Laken Reilly, Jocelyn Nangre, Rachel Morin, and so many others were viciously murdered at the hands of these illegal aliens as a result of Biden's dereliction of duty.
(02:06)
That's why one of President Trump's central campaign promises was to secure the border and end this invasion. In just under 100 days, 99 now to be exact, the president has overwhelmingly delivered on that promise. America's borders are now secure because of President Trump. He has restored the rule of law, enforced our immigration laws, and defended America's sovereignty.
(02:29)
The President immediately declared a national emergency on the southern border, deployed the US military and Border Patrol to repel the invasion and ended reckless catch-and-release policies. The results have been nothing short of extraordinary. Between President Trump's inauguration and April 1 of this month, only nine illegal aliens were released into the United States. A staggering 99 point 99% decrease from the more than 184,000 illegal aliens who were released into the country under Biden during the same period last year. The number of unaccompanied illegal alien children arriving at the border has also hit a record low. Total attempted illegal crossings at the southwest border hit a record low in February only to fall to another new record low again last month in March.
(03:17)
Just listen to these incredible numbers. In March 2024, under Joe Biden, Border Patrol encountered approximately 140,000 illegal aliens at the southwest border. One year later in March 2025, under President Trump, Border Patrol encountered just over 7,000 illegal aliens at the southwest border. That's another 95% decrease from the prior year.
(03:40)
The first piece of legislation President Trump signed into law was the Laken Riley Act, which requires illegal aliens arrested or charged with theft or violence to be detained. President Trump also reestablished the successful Remain In Mexico policy from his first term to ensure that aliens who arrive at our southern border and claim asylum are returned to Mexico to await their hearings instead of being allowed into our country while they wait.
(04:05)
The president has also restarted construction of his signature advanced border wall. More than 85 miles of new border barrier are already in various stages of construction and planning. And Border Patrol in collaboration with the Department of Defense and the great state of Texas have deployed 75 additional miles of temporary barriers across the southern border.
(04:26)
The Trump administration, as you know, has also ended the disastrous CBP1 app, which Joe Biden exploited to facilitate the migration of nearly 1 million illegal aliens into the country. The Department of Homeland Security has relaunched this as the CBP home map to provide illegal aliens in the US a straightforward way to declare their intent to voluntarily depart.
(04:47)
For years, Joe Biden's weakness in open border policies allowed vicious cartels to functionally control through a campaign of terror, rape, and brutal force, nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border. President Trump has put a stop to this in record time. He designated these heinous cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and invoked the Alien Enemies Act to immediately apprehend, detain, and remove these massive threats who have flooded our country with deadly drugs, violent criminals in vicious gangs.
(05:16)
The Trump administration is working 24/7 to successfully arrest and deport these illegal criminals and foreign terrorists from our communities. We are in the beginning stages of carrying out the largest deportation campaign in American history. Over this past weekend, it was announced that through Operation Tidal Wave, a joint effort between ICE Miami and Florida law enforcement agencies, nearly 800 illegal aliens were arrested during the first four days alone.
(05:44)
Among those arrested were a Colombian murderer, alleged MS13 and 18th Street gang members and a Russian with a red notice for manslaughter. And on the other side of the country, in the early Sunday morning hours, DOJ and DHS together launched a joint raid of an illegal alien underground nightclub used by Tren de Aragua in Colorado Springs, Colorado. DHS took more than 100 illegal aliens into custody, and many drugs and weapons were also seized. Operation Tidal Wave is a preview of what is to come around this country. Large-scale operations that employ our state and local enforcement partners to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.
(06:24)
As always, President Trump and our entire administration are grateful for the courageous law enforcement officers who are putting their lives on the line every single day to protect their fellow Americans and to keep our country safe. After four years of being vilified and hamstrung by the Biden administration, heroic ICE and CBP officers finally have a president who has their backs and is allowing them to do the jobs they signed up to do. There's no person who can attest to that more than our incredible borders are here at the White House, Tom Homan, who has dedicated his professional career to protecting our country and enforcing the law. I will let Tom, deliver some short remarks and then we'll open it up for questions today. Thanks for being here, Tom.
Tom Homan (07:01):
Thank you. Just a few things. Look, I started in the border patrol in 1984. I've been at this for over 40 years. I worked for six presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan. Every president I ever worked for took border security seriously, because you can't have national security if you don't have strong border security. We've got to know who's coming in, what's coming in, where it's coming in, why it's coming in, right?
(07:25)
Even President Obama and President Clinton took some steps to secure the border because they understood national security was important. Joe Biden was the first president in the history of this nation who came in the office and unsecured a border on purpose. That's just a fact. We handed the Biden administration after President Trump's first administration, we handed the Biden administration the most secure border in my lifetime, and he unsecured it on purpose.
(07:53)
Now, President Trump and this administration here, the success is unprecedented. We beat Trump's first administration on border success. Border numbers are historic low. Today as I'm standing here, we are the most secure border in the history of this nation, and the numbers prove it.
(08:14)
President Trump's policies are saving lives every day. There's been studies done that says 31% of women that make that journey through use of cartels get sexually assaulted. When President Trump has illegal immigration down 96%, when 96% less people are coming, how many women aren't being sexually assaulted by the cartels? How many children aren't dying making that journey? How many women and children aren't being sex trafficked into this nation? How many known suspected terrorists aren't making into this country? How many pounds of fentanyl isn't getting into this country to kill young Americans?
(08:51)
How many women and children aren't sex trafficked? Under Joe Biden, sex trafficking was up 600%. We had 4,000 aliens dying making that journey. We had a quarter million Americans dead from Fentanyl that came across an open border. President Trump's policy saves lives every day. Even the border wall saves lives. The people want to hate on the border wall. Every place the border barrier has been built, illegal migrations decline, illegal drug flows decline.
(09:17)
But you know what no one talks about? The border wall saves lives because the most vulnerable, the women and children can't get over that wall, which means they're going to a place where there's not a wall and what's waiting on them, the men and women the United States border patrol who will take care of those humanitarian needs. Their health needs are off the bat. We just rolled the numbers. Let me talk about a few numbers that are important to me.
(09:41)
Under Biden administration, we averaged over 11,000 many days, over 12,000, some days 15,000 illegal entrance in the United States, 15,000. You know what the number was last 24 hours, 178. 15,000 to 178, unprecedented success.
(10:04)
On average day in Biden administration, known got aways, people we knew crossed the border because we're on video, drone traffic or central traffic, cross the border weren't apprehended, weren't fingerprinted, weren't vetted. Average down to Joe Biden more than 1800 got aways. Yesterday, 38. 38, too many. We'll get that to zero, but we went from 1800 to 38. And finally, that was said earlier, under the first 100 days, it was actually January 20th to April 1st. Last year, 184,000 illegal aliens were released into the United States. Under this administration, 9. Four of them were material witnesses in a criminal investigation, we need him here to testify in a serious criminal trial. Four was extreme medical condition, we couldn't return them because they're in such bad shape, and one was humanitarian issue.
(11:01)
This is unprecedented success. The border is secure, President Trump's saving lives. President Trump has proven no one does this better than President Trump. There is no equal, it's not even close. So God bless the men and women of the border patrol, God bless the men and women of ICE, who strap a gun to the hip every day, but on a Kevlar vest to not only secure our border and protect our national security, but the ICE agents in the interior, they're removing public safety threats and national security threats every day.
(11:33)
While you're all sleeping at two, three o'clock in the morning, there are men and women out there enforcing law and make this country safe again. And we're going to keep doing. Its full speed ahead. So I'll leave it at that.
Karoline Leavitt (11:45):
Awesome. Thank you, Tom. And thanks for all your great efforts. We do want to open it up to questions if you have border related questions for Mr. Homan, and I'm also happy to take any non-border related questions. I'm happy to take border questions too, but Tom is here offering his time, so we encourage you to ask him
Karoline Leavitt (12:00):
… questions. We'll start with our new media team today. As always, Rogan O'Hanley, former Hollywood entertainment lawyer, I didn't know that, Rogan, who got fed up with the far-left ideologies of California and now posts conservative political commentary online for his more than 7 million followers across all major platforms. He joins us today from the great state of Florida. Why don't you kick us off today, Rogan.
Rogan O'Hanley (12:21):
Thank you, Karoline. In Trump's first 99 days, we've seen a coordinated assault on the rule of law by radical judges who are thwarting his agenda with an unprecedented number of national injunctions. These judges are providing more due process to violent MS-13 and Tren de Aragua illegal aliens than they did for American citizens who peacefully protested on January 6th. As Stephen Miller has highlighted, it would be utterly ridiculous to have full trials and appeals for the more than 15 million illegal aliens that came across our border under Joe Biden.
(12:51)
Many are now calling for Trump to circumvent these radical judges and consider suspending the writ of habeas corpus solely for these illegal aliens in accordance with the terms of Article I Section 9 of the United States Constitution, which explicitly allows for such a measure when there is a rebellion or invasion. There is strong precedent for this action being that it was exercised by three of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Democrat's favorite president of all time, FDR. All three of which are not only celebrated by historians but are immortalized on our national currency with their faces on there. Furthermore, all three used it against American citizens, where in this instance we would only be using it against illegal aliens.
(13:35)
I think almost every reasonable American would agree that 15 million illegal aliens coming across our border under Joe Biden counts as an invasion, especially since many, as you highlighted, are now robbing, assaulting, raping, and killing American citizens. Historic assaults on our republic require reciprocal action from our government.
(13:55)
Can you please let us know if and when the Trump administration is planning to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to circumvent these radical judges who are infringing on his Article II powers and to start shipping out illegals en masse?
Karoline Leavitt (14:07):
I have not heard such discussions take place, but I can assure you that the President and the entire administration are certainly open to all legal and constitutional remedies to ensure we can continue with the promise of deporting illegal criminals from our nation's borders. And I also agree with the premise of your question, which doesn't happen in this room often, but I do agree with yours. It is absurd that the previous administration was allowed to allow 15 million, that we know about, illegal aliens into this country with very little pushback from our judicial branch. But this president is trying to simply enforce our nation's immigration laws and is facing roadblock after roadblock. So we're complying with court orders, but as Tom Homan has said every day, we're going to continue to forge ahead with this mass deportation campaign and the President is open to all remedies to do that. Thanks for being here today, Rogan.
Tom Homan (14:59):
If I can also answer your question, as far as the judges, look, we just arrested a judge, Pam Bondi, for impeding ICE enforcement. I said from day one, you don't have to support ICE's operations. You can support sanctuary cities, if that's what you desire to do. Sanctuary cities can stand aside and watch ICE keep their community safe. Because any public official, whether your mayor, city councilman, or governor, their number one responsibility is protection of the communities. And ICE has been clear, we're targeting public safety threats and national security threats.
(15:34)
I can't believe there's any elected official, and especially a judge, that doesn't believe we should be doing that and they should be helping us. But I said from day one, you can sit aside and watch. You can argue against us all as you want and protest all you want, but when you cross that line, I've said this a thousand times, when you cross that line to impedement or knowingly harbor and concealing an illegal alien from ICE, you will be prosecuted, judge or not. And as far as releasing so many people. You know why the Biden administration released millions of people in the United States? No one ever talks about it. I'll talk about it. Why did they release people into the interior of the United States rather than put them into an ICE bed? Why not put them in an empty ICE bed, $127 a night rather than in a hotel room at 500 bucks a night? They did it on purpose because when you put them in a ICE detention bed, they get a hearing in 35 days.
(16:24)
Court records show nine out of 10 people claim asylum, get order removal, they're gone. But if you release them and put them a hotel room at 500 bucks a night, their hearings could be 5, 7, 9 years when you pull out all the appeals and what are they hoping for then? That another Democrat administration is in power. They can award amnesty to millions. This is about selling this country out for future political power. That's what it was. The law clearly says if you arrive at our border without proper documentation, you shall be detained. Not maybe, not think about it, shall. And that's what President Trump's doing. Catch and release is over. That's what the law says and that's what we've done.
Karoline Leavitt (17:05):
Mary, go ahead.
Mary (17:06):
A question on Abrego Garcia, if I can. The President recently said when it comes to facilitating his release, he's leaving that up to his lawyer. So just to be clear, have there been any negotiations between the US and El Salvador over his release or facilitating his release?
Karoline Leavitt (17:20):
Look, I will tell you what the president of El Salvador told all of you in the Oval Office. El Salvador does not intend to smuggle a designated foreign terrorist back into the United States. He is an El Salvadorian national, that is his home country. That is where he belongs. And the administration intends to comply with what President Bukele said of El Salvador. He does not intend to send that individual back.
Mary (17:43):
So that's a no. There's been no talks.
Karoline Leavitt (17:45):
What I have told you is that the president of El Salvador has made this quite clear.
(17:49)
Kate.
Kate (17:50):
Karoline, can you tell us more about the meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky over the weekend? Did that meeting change anything? Did Trump leave that meeting thinking any differently about negotiations and next steps on this?
Karoline Leavitt (18:00):
Look, the president talked about this after the meeting himself yesterday when he took questions from reporters on Air Force One. He thinks that he is increasingly frustrated with leaders of both countries. He wants to see a permanent ceasefire. I understand Vladimir Putin, this morning, offered a temporary ceasefire. The president has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire. First, to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed. And while he remains optimistic, he can strike a deal. He's also being realistic, as well. And both leaders need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of this. And I do think that the president meeting with President Zelensky shows that he is exuding a lot of effort and time into this because he wants to be a peacemaker president, which he was in his first term. He intends to do that again. And this is an incredibly difficult situation and conflict that President Trump inherited from President Biden who allowed this war to start in the first place. But he's focused on solving this problem.
(18:56)
Does anyone have border questions? Sure.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Thank you, Karoline. If border crossings are at a record low, why should it still be considered an emergency?
Tom Homan (19:07):
It is because of what has happened on the last administration. We got to ensure that not one ounce of fentanyl comes across the [inaudible 00:19:19] that kill Americans. The President has declared the cartels of Mexico a terrorist organization along with MS-13, TDA. They killed more Americans than every terrorist organization in the world combined. It's an emergency until we shut it down, it's an emergency til the cartels are wiped off the face of this earth. President Trump's committed to saving every life.
(19:40)
Now, I just mentioned got-aways, 38 yesterday. Who are the got-aways? Where do they come from? We had over 2 million got-aways under the Joe Biden's administration. Why did 2 million people pay more to get away? Under Biden's administration, you pay a cartel this amount of money to cross the border. Cartel's job ends at the border. Turn yourself in to a green uniform, get released in 24 hours. Get a free airline ticket to the city of your choice. Get a free hotel room, get three meals a day, get free medical care, get work authorization in 90, 120 days, which is the real reason they came here. Why did 2 million people pay more to get away? Because they didn't want to be vetted. They didn't want to be fingerprinted. We've arrested over 400 people on the terrorist watch list coming across the southern border in four years.
(20:32)
How many came from countries sponsoring terrorism? Do you think it's zero? Then you're ignorant. This is the biggest national security failure this country's ever seen. This is the border emergency until we end it, end all of it. We're making good strides. Right now, it's still emergency until we shut it down.
Karoline Leavitt (20:50):
Go ahead.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
This is a question for Mr. Homan. Late last week, there were three U.S citizen children who were removed with their mothers who were in the United States illegally. A federal judge in Louisiana who was appointed by President Trump said that he was concerned that there was "no meaningful process". Are you concerned that due process, at least for the U.S. citizen children is being flouted and that the speed at which the enforcement is being done could lead to errors, as was the case in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case? And then also, if you could give an update on the deportation numbers under this administration and whether you're pleased with them.
Tom Homan (21:29):
First of all, I don't accept the term error in Abrego-Gracia. There is an oversight. There was a withholding order, but things have changed. The facts around the withholding order has changed. He's now a terrorist, which means the withholding order's set aside, and the gang he was fearing from being removed to El Salvador no longer exists. So the facts around that case are totally different. I'll let the lawyers litigate that. But as far as the [inaudible 00:21:52] kids, I'd said from day one that if you enter this country illegally, it's a crime. If you remain in this country illegally and you ignore a judge's order about deporting, if you choose to have a U.S. citizen child knowing you're in this country illegally, you put yourself in that position, you put your family in that position.
(22:10)
What we did is remove children with their mothers who requested the children to depart with them. This was a parental decision. Parenting 101. The mothers made that choice. And I tell you what, if we didn't do it, the story today would be Trump administration separating families again. No, we're keeping families together. So when a parent says, I want my two-year-old baby to go with me, we made that happen. They weren't deported. We don't deport U.S. citizens. The parents made that decision, not the United States government. But I don't hear any questions about Laken Riley had a mother. She's never going to see her child again. Rachel Moran, she had five children. Those children are never going to see the mom again.
(22:52)
This administration is doing the right thing. Every public safety threat we arrest from this country and remove them, this country is much safer. So parents will make a decision what happens to their child. Having a U.S. citizen child does not make you immune from our laws. If that's the message we send the entire world; enter the country illegally, it's a crime, don't worry about it. Get order removed by an immigration judge, don't worry about it. No one's looking for you. And have a U.S. citizen child and you're immune from our laws. You're never going to fix the border. People will keep putting themselves in harm's way. More women would die, more children would die crossing this border. We got to secure border by enforcement laws. We're not making this up. We're enforcing laws under statute enacted by Congress and it's the right thing to do.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Can you give an update on the deportation numbers on this administration?
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Mr. Homan-
Karoline Leavitt (23:36):
What are you asking for? We just provided the numbers.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
The number of deportations that have occurred under this administration, whether you're pleased with that.
Tom Homan (23:45):
Last number I got was 139,000 deportations. Am I happy with the numbers? Numbers are good, especially if you look at the ICE numbers. The ICE arrest removals are far beyond Biden. But I read in the media, the deportations
Tom Homan (24:00):
… behind Biden administration. Well, why? Because they counted border removals. We don't have 10.5 million people crossing the border. We don't have border removals. So Joe Biden could have deported 5% of his encounters and numbers will still be higher than us on the border removals, because we have a secure border, the most secure border in the history of this nation. Compare apples to apples, ICE arrests and deportations are far more than Joe Biden.
Karoline Leavitt (24:25):
That's right. Sure. Go ahead.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Mr. Homan, talking about the border wall, can you give us an update as far as how many miles are being built to date? And is Mexico paying for it as the President said they were going to?
Karoline Leavitt (24:41):
Well, first of all, I'll answer that question, because I already answered it in my opening remarks. To date, since January 1st, there's been more than 85 miles of new border wall construction in various stages of that construction and planning. The President has made it clear to Congress that we want to see more funding, for not just border wall construction, but also to support our ICE agents and our border patrol agents who are on the ground facilitating with this mass deportation effort.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
So he's clear that Mexico is not going to pay for it? Is that what you're saying?
Tom Homan (25:12):
Let's address that. Trump said Mexico will pay for the wall. They have been in a round about way have they not? Putting 10,000 military on the north and southern border, taking the action they did remain in Mexico. They didn't have to do that. They're doing it. Putting military on the southern border. Have moved illegal immigration to a record low. We're saving millions of dollars every day on detention, transportation, removal proceedings. We've more than made up for the cost of that wall because the actions of Mexico. So is Mexico helping build that wall? Yeah, because we're saving so much money, millions of dollars a day that we can afford to build that wall. So actually, yes, they're helping to build the wall.
Karoline Leavitt (25:48):
Jon.
Jon Decker (25:49):
Thanks a lot, Karoline. Mr. Homan, a question for you. You're the border czar, can you give an estimate as to how many individuals are in the United States illegally? That's number one. And I'm sure you're very familiar with that number, an estimate. And the second question is, I have a list that the White House put out of individuals, 100 ICE arrests since the beginning of the President's term. And the people are arrested for various very serious crimes. First degree murder, convicted of rape, convicted of murder and aggravated burglary, sexual assault of a child. How many of the individuals that are in the United States illegally are people like this, really bad people?
Tom Homan (26:33):
Well, first of all, how many illegal aliens I think in the United States? At least 20 million here. So where'd you come up with that number? We've been speaking about 12 million for 20 years. We know we got 10.5 that we know of came to the border. How many don't we know of? I talked about known got aways at 2 million. How many unknown got aways we have? Between the Big Bend sector in Texas where there's no technology, how many? 1000 people a day could cross through there, we wouldn't know. We would know now. So I would get, venture over 20 million. But your question is, last count we got, last I looked, there was about 700,000 illegal aliens with criminal charges walking the streets of this country. 700,000. And that's what we're looking for now. That's what we're prioritizing. Them and national security threats.
Karoline Leavitt (27:18):
We'll go to the back row.
Taylor Popielarz (27:20):
Thanks, Karoline.
Karoline Leavitt (27:20):
Yes.
Taylor Popielarz (27:21):
For Mr. Homan, I'm Taylor with Spectrum News. We have a station up in Rochester, New York. It was reported you're visiting there tomorrow. Can you talk a bit about the purpose of your trip? I know the Trump administration is suing the city over its sanctuary city policies. How the executive order Karoline alluded to ties into it? And what your message is for communities and community leaders who say, "We're able to establish our own rules here. We're worried about this input from the federal level." Can you talk a bit about that?
Tom Homan (27:47):
Well, same thing I talked about earlier. I don't think any elected mayor, any elected governor, should want public safety threats, those illegally in the United States, public safety threats walking through the community. And what happened to Rochester, HSI agent called for emergency assistance. Officers of Rochester PD responded to a call from emergency assistance from a federal law enforcement officer. From a federal law enforcement officer. They responded, then they got disciplined. I don't think anybody can come up with one instance where an ICE agent or border patrol agent didn't respond to emergency call from assistance from any law enforcement agency. Cops need to help cops, especially in the emergency situation. But they got disciplined. And I met those officers down in Nashville soon after that. I think it was a couple days after it. And I told them I stand with them. They did the right thing. Law enforcement responding to emergency assistance from law enforcement.
(28:49)
So I'm going up there to support the men and women of law enforcement. The men and women who carry that badge and gun every day. They're working the streets at 2 A.M. while we're all sleeping. I'm going to give them my support, and they just announced a lawsuit? And that's one of many. A sanctuary city is going to be suing this administration for flouting immigration law. I mean, the law is clear and they're violating it. And this administration's going to take actions. I'm going up there to show my support of men and women in law enforcement. I started as a cop. And the community, I'm showing support for them. Because the community wants their police officer to be officers too. The communities don't want public safety threats walking around their communities either. And that's what it's all about, and that's why I'm going.
Karoline Leavitt (29:25):
Okay. Sure.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
Thanks, Karoline. Mr. Homan, how close are you to housing migrants at US DOD facilities like Fort Bliss in Texas?
Tom Homan (29:40):
Well, we're already housing at Guantanamo. Fort Bliss is being ramped up, so in the very near future. I don't have a timetable because things need to be done. Construction needs to be done. We're making sure the facilities are ready to accept. Make sure facilities are able to care for the people that are going to be detained. So I don't know the timeline right now. It changes every day because of various issues, but we're working on it.
Speaker 5 (30:04):
Are you intending to hold families there, including families with American citizen children?
Tom Homan (30:09):
Family residential centers are for families. They're not jails, they're an open-air campus built for families. Which means they have child psychologists, they have pediatricians. And why family residential centers? Because we want to make sure that child is with a parent. Unlike the last administration who stopped DNA testing. Who many investigations of children being smuggled in the country with some that wasn't related to them, claiming to be a parent. So we'll make sure children are with parents. We're going to make sure that's actually a family, and that child ain't being trafficked. That's the main reason.
Speaker 6 (30:43):
Question.
Karoline Leavitt (30:44):
Go ahead.
Speaker 6 (30:44):
Regarding the executive order on sanctuary cities, is the administration planning to pursue any more investigations or prosecutions, like was done against the judge in Wisconsin, against local officials?
Karoline Leavitt (30:57):
Well, we'd have to defer you to the Department of Justice, obviously, for specific prosecutions or cases against individuals. But as I said in my remarks, the Executive Order the President will sign later this afternoon does direct the Attorney General and also Kristi Noem, our great Secretary of Homeland Security, to provide a list of sanctuary cities in which local officials are not complying with this federal order, and are not complying with federal immigration laws. It's quite simple. Obey the law, respect the law, and don't obstruct federal immigration officials and law enforcement officials when they are simply trying to remove public safety threats from our nation's communities. The American public don't want illegal alien criminals in their communities. They made that quite clear on November 5th. And this administration is determined to enforce our nation's immigration laws and we're happy to provide the text of that executive order. And as I said, the President will be signing it later this afternoon. Sure.
Speaker 5 (31:54):
Excuse me. I want to talk about farm workers. The President said earlier this month that there could be leniency for some undocumented farm workers. I'm wondering, where do things stand with that? And I'm also wondering, does that at all undermine his message on immigration? That it's okay for some undocumented people to be in the US but maybe not others?
Karoline Leavitt (32:10):
So the President was referring to our H-1B and H-1A visa programs, and there have been no final decisions on that at all. But the President, I think what he was intended to speak about, what he was speaking about, is ensuring that we have a clean legal immigration system that is being respected and obeyed. And the mass amount of illegal immigration that we've seen over the past four years in our country completely undermines our legal immigration system. Those seeking citizenship, but also those coming here on a visa to legally and lawfully work. And the President wants to make sure that those programs are respected. Reagan.
Reagan Reese (32:46):
Thanks, Karoline. My question is for Tom. Tom, Reagan Reese with the Daily Caller. Over the weekend ICE arrested two illegal immigrants for allegedly stealing Secretary Noem's purse over the weekend. What can you tell us about these individuals' immigration history as well as their criminal history?
Tom Homan (33:04):
I don't have the criminal history, but I know the one that stole the purse is supposedly in the country legally. But picked the wrong person to steal a purse from. I mean, Secretary Noem is a strong, strong Secretary. I know I've been talking about the success of the men and women of the Border patrol and ICE, but under her strong leadership, she's a game changer. So I'm happy to work with it, despite the media I've read that me and Kristi Noem have differences? Me and Kristi Noem are attached at the hip. There's no daylight between us. We're both going to push the President's agenda. She's a strong Secretary and I'm glad she's in here. But again, that illegal alien? Picked the wrong person to steal a purse from, I'm telling you.
Karoline Leavitt (33:42):
Wasn't a good decision. Mary Margaret, go ahead.
Mary Margaret Olohan (33:45):
Thank you, Karoline. I have two questions, one for Mr. Homan, one for you, on the White House Correspondents dinner. I'd like to start with you though, Tom Homan. This list has a very high number of sexual assaults on a child. Can you comment on that, and why there's so many crimes against children committed by illegals in this country?
Tom Homan (34:04):
I don't know why, it's sick. It's the worst crime in the world when you sexually assault a child. I mean, the most innocent of us all. But that's why I made a statement that one time I was going to go to Boston, bring hell with me, and the media went crazy at Tom Homan. Said he was going to go Boston, bring hell with him. I was going to bring hell to illegal aliens that rape children. There's not more of a heinous crime. And as you can see, the amount of child rapists we've arrested under this administration, that could have been arrested under the Biden administration, they were out there. They had their final orders. They were out there. But they didn't go look for them. They were too busy releasing millions of illegal aliens in this country.
(34:42)
And the numbers prove it. The removal numbers of criminals was the lowest. ICE had the lowest number of removals in the history of ICE under Joe. At the same time, he had historic illegal immigration on the border, ICE had the lowest numbers in the history of the agency. That shows the difference between two administrations. We're looking for every one of them. People want to know, okay, am I going to retire for the third time? I'll retire when every public safety threat, national security threat, child rapists, eradicate from this country. That's when I'll rest.
Mary Margaret Olohan (35:13):
Thank you so much. And then Karoline, really quick. Alex Thompson said at the White House Correspondents dinner, and I'm going to read his quote, "President Biden's decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of the party, is capable of deception. We, myself included, missed a lot of this story, and some people trust us less because of it." Can you comment on those remarks, and whether you agree with that assessment?
Karoline Leavitt (35:34):
I do agree with that assessment from Alex Thompson, who I understand won an award for writing a story months, and perhaps years, after the American people already knew that story to be true. Millions of Americans watched our mentally incompetent President struggle with his day-to-day duties of this office. We watched our country be ran into the ground as a result. And nobody in the media wanted to write about that, talk about it. There were many
Karoline Leavitt (36:00):
Many reporters, I will say, right-leaning reporters who did talk about that, who didn't get awards, didn't get coverage, in fact, they were lambasted for their coverage and I remember being on President Trump's campaign talking about Joe Biden's clear mental incompetence and being accused by people in this room of manufacturing deep fake videos, trying to persuade the public into not believing what they saw with their own eyes for many years, and I think it's about time the legacy media finally admits that was one of the greatest cover-ups and scandals that ever took place in American history and certainly it did contribute to the decline in the trust that Americans have for the legacy media. Peter, which by the way is why we've made many changes to this briefing room in this White House. It's long overdue. Peter, go ahead.
Speaker 7 (36:46):
Thank you. A few things. You guys arrested a Milwaukee County circuit judge for allegedly helping illegal immigrants get away. As you guys look at other judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain like a federal judge or even a Supreme Court Justice?
Karoline Leavitt (37:05):
That's a hypothetical question. Again, I defer you to the Department of Justice for individuals that they are looking at or individual cases, but let's be clear about what this judge did. She obstructed federal law enforcement who were looking for an illegal alien in her courthouse. She showed that illegal alien the door to evade law enforcement officials. That is a clear-cut case of obstruction. You don't have to be a lawyer to understand that. And anyone who is breaking the law or obstructing federal law enforcement officials from doing their jobs is putting ourselves at risk of being prosecuted, absolutely.
Speaker 7 (37:38):
You guys have at least 18 written trade proposals. We still don't know who they are from or what they contain. What is the holdup with that?
Karoline Leavitt (37:48):
There isn't a holdup. We're working around the clock. The trade team is working all day. I was on the phone late last night with Secretary Lutnick. I was on the phone this weekend as well with Secretary Bessent, the entire team is working 24/7 to get these trade deals done and I think you'll be hearing more about them this week. I don't want to get ahead of the trade team or the President in announcing potential deals, but certainly I can assure the American public that this administration is full speed ahead in cutting good and fair trade deals on behalf of the American worker.
Speaker 7 (38:18):
And one more. After the President's Truth Social post, the Browns finally took Shedeur Sanders. Does the President think he deserves credit for Sanders getting picked and does he think going to the Browns is better than being undrafted?
Karoline Leavitt (38:36):
All I will say is the President put out a statement and a few rounds later he was drafted. I think the facts speak for themselves on that one, Peter. We'll go to the back row in the middle to the blonde. Yes. Hello.
Speaker 8 (38:47):
President Trump has said that Secretary Hegseth will get it together. Does he think that Hegseth doesn't have it together right now?
Karoline Leavitt (38:54):
Look, the president has made his position on Secretary Hegseth quite clear. He absolutely has confidence in the Secretary's ability to lead the Pentagon. It's why he nominated him for this position. It's why the Senate voted to confirm him in this position and look at the success that DOD has had thus far. Their successful operation against the Houthi terrorists in the Middle East. You look at the recruitment and retention levels for all branches of our armed forces are on the incline, which is exactly what this President intended to do. Secretary Hegseth has completely wiped out DEI from the Pentagon as well, and he's going to remain focused on standing up for our war fighters, on implementing President Trump's peace through strength, foreign policy agenda abroad and the President supports him in his role.
Speaker 8 (39:40):
Many are wondering how these 10 or 20 million people are working. Is there some efforts to clamp down on employment because they're working somewhere to keep staying here?
Tom Homan (39:53):
The number of worksite enforcement actions have tripled this year and it's going to triple again because in sanctuary jurisdictions especially, if we can't arrest a bad guy in the safety and security of a county jail and they're going to release them into community, that means we go into the community. If we can't arrest them in the community, we'll arrest them at their worksite. We got to do what we got to do to arrest public safety threats. There's no sanctuary for public safety threats in this country. Worksite enforcement is going to increase even more than it already has. And another reason for worksite, the last administration stopped worksites. Where's the number one place we find victims of trafficking, victims of forced labor trafficking? In worksites. Not only are we going to enforce law on worksites, we're going to save victims of trafficking. That's another reason we've increased worksite enforcement.
Karoline Leavitt (40:43):
Awesome. Go ahead Brian. We'll take one more question.
Speaker 9 (40:48):
Thank you. This is for Mr. Homan. We all walked by these heinous yard signs that are along Pebble Beach. What is some of the feedback that your ICE agents are getting in the field from the community as they remove these individuals from their families, their neighborhoods, their schools, all the places in their community? What's been the reaction that your ICE agents have gotten from the people who live amongst these individuals?
Tom Homan (41:16):
The morale of ICE and Border Patrol is at all time high because they're getting to uphold the oath they took and they're enforcing the law. Border Patrol under the Biden administration, I met with hundreds of them, they felt like Uber drivers and tourist agents. These men and women join the ranks of ICE and Border Patrol to enforce the law and make the community safer and protect national security. I hear it all the time. There's a lot of people in this country don't like me, I don't care. But when I walk through airport, I have many people walking up to me and thank me for when I'm doing it and I'm not taking credit for anything. The success of the border and immigration enforcement is President Trump and the men and women wearing that uniform. God bless each and every one of them, but I take a pleasure in seeing it because in 40 years of doing this job, people always want to say, "Why are you so emotional when you testify? Why are you so emotional in network?"
(42:08)
Because if they wore my shoes for 40 years, they don't understand why emotional. I've talked to the little girls as young as nine years old are raped multiple times by the cartel members and when you get to your knees and you talk that little girl and everything innocent and pure has been ripped from her, when you listen to the Laken Riley, 17 minutes, that young lady fighting for her life, don't just think, "A young woman died." Think of how she died, the terror that she went through and these children are sexually assaulted. I stood back with [inaudible 00:42:37] 19 dead people at my feet, that baked to death. Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. And every sick person we take off the streets, especially child rapists, makes this country much safer. Every illegal alien we arrest public safety threat one at a time makes this country safer. But I got one thing I need to say real quick before I leave.
Karoline Leavitt (42:58):
Take your notes from me, Tom.
Tom Homan (43:00):
Take my notes from me. I'm going to read it. I don't want a misinterpretation what I'm reading to you. The registration requirements under 8 USC 1302. If your illegal alien in the United States this message is for you. You cannot hide from ICE. We're actively looking for you. Federal law requires every alien in the United States who has been present in the United States more than 30 days needs to register. For those 14 years or older, you need to be fingerprinted with the Department of Homeland Security. Federal law requires every alien in the United States to tell DHS in writing, if you have a change in address within 10 days of change in the address. Failing to register with DHS and fair to tell DHS about your new address are criminal offenses and they're going to be treated as such. Starting today. Make no mistake, if you're in the country illegally and you fail to do what the law requires, we will prosecute you.
(43:56)
You'll go to jail then we'll deport you. Second of all, penalties for failure to depart, 8 USC 1253. If you're alien in inside the United States has a final order, this message for you. If you have a final order, the Trump administration is committed to enforcing our immigration laws, especially for those aliens who have received final orders of deportation. There are currently around 1.4 million illegal aliens who've been ordered removed, but remain here in violation of the law. We will aggressively prosecute consistent with long-standing law, those aliens for failing or refusing to depart or who takes other related actions aimed at hindering the removal. You cannot open the door, you cannot answer our questions, you cannot open your car door, you consider to evade law enforcement. If you fail to leave the United States after receiving removal order, we can and will issue monetary fines up to $998 a day.
(44:59)
Evading your arrest, knowing you have a final order or removal is a criminal offense, we will prosecute then we'll deport you. Get your affairs in order. If you're in the country illegally, work with ICE, go to CBP Home app and leave on your own because we have to find it, deport you and prosecute you, you'll have a bar placed under you and you won't come back to this country. You won't be able to come back on a visitor's visa, tourist visa. If you have US citizen child, can't petition for you. If you're in this country, will you get your affairs in order and work with us and get yourself removed from this country? That's what law requires and we're going to force that law.
Karoline Leavitt (45:40):
Awesome. Thank you so much, Tom. You can get back to work now. Look, he's already leaving. He's got a lot to do. A lot of illegal immigrants to deport. But thanks everyone for joining us bright and early this morning. As I said at the top, we will do this again tomorrow to talk about the economy, which is another promise made and kept by the President. And I'll be joined by the Secretary of Treasury, Scott Bessent at 8: 30 tomorrow morning. Today the President is welcoming the Super Bowl Champions, Philadelphia Eagles. If we have any Philly fans, that will be at four o'clock and then the President will sign those executive orders I spoke of and a few others at five P.M. We'll see you all later. Have a great day.