Of the illegal immigrants deported so far under the Trump administration—97 percent of them were under a removal order from the Biden administration, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Jan. 31.
Addressing reporters, Leavitt provided background on some of those who have been arrested by ICE.
In Chicago, the agency apprehended on Jan. 27 a Guatemalan convicted of the solicitation of a minor.
The following day, ICE arrested a South Korean in Atlanta who was “convicted of nine counts of possession or control of material depicting minors in sexually explicit conduct,” said Leavitt.
The same day, the agency arrested in New York “a Mexican national previously charged by the state of New York for attempted murder and possession of a weapon and assault,” she said.
Also on Jan. 28, ICE apprehended a Mexican citizen convicted of child pornography possession.
“If you are a criminal illegal alien, you will be arrested and deported,” Leavitt said.
Since taking office, Trump has taken a hardline stance on immigration and border security, signing numerous executive orders aiming to stem the flow of illegal immigration and remove from the United States those in the country illegally, prioritizing violent criminals.
During the briefing, Leavitt went after officials such as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who are refusing to cooperate with ICE.
She said that "they would be very wise to comply with this administration because this administration is hellbent on enforcing our nation’s immigration laws and this administration will continue to arrest and detain and deport illegal migrant criminals.
“And what we won’t do is defy our nation’s immigration laws like the previous administration who had these orders of removal on illegal immigrants across the country and were refusing to execute them,” Leavitt said.
“We will continue to remove illegal criminals from our nation’s interior sanctuary city leaders.”
