- 4/28/2025
Karoline Leavitt and Border Czar Tom Homan hold a White House press briefing to highlight actions on tackling illegal immigration.
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00:30Good morning, everybody.
00:45How are you?
00:46Good to see you bright and early on this Monday morning.
00:49As you know, this week marks the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, and President
00:55Trump's first 100 days have undoubtedly been the most monumental and historic of any administration
01:01in American history.
01:04President Trump has already delivered on hundreds of promises he made to the American people,
01:09and we will continue to talk about all of them throughout this week.
01:13Tomorrow, I will host a press briefing at this same time, right and early again, to highlight
01:18the Trump administration's economic accomplishments with our Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant.
01:23And tomorrow night, President Trump will travel to Michigan to discuss all that he has achieved
01:29on behalf of the American people.
01:31On Wednesday, the president will host an open press cabinet meeting where each cabinet member
01:36will discuss their success thus far and their plans for the future.
01:40Today, we kick off 100-day week with a focus on the president's historic effort to secure
01:45our southern border.
01:47Later this afternoon, President Trump will sign an executive order on law and order and another
01:52executive order on sanctuary cities.
01:55The first EO will strengthen and unleash America's law enforcement to pursue criminals and protect
02:00innocent citizens.
02:02The second EO is centered around protecting American communities from criminal aliens, and
02:07it will direct the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to publish a list of state
02:12and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
02:17After these are signed, the president will have signed more than 140 executive orders already,
02:23rapidly approaching the total number signed by the Biden administration over the course of
02:28four years in office.
02:30Speaking of Joe Biden, it was his awful open border policies that recklessly allowed more than
02:3510 million illegal aliens to invade the United States over the past four years.
02:39Innocent Americans like Lakin Riley, Jocelyn Nungray, Rachel Morin, and so many others were
02:45viciously murdered at the hands of these illegal aliens as a result of Biden's dereliction of
02:51duty.
02:51That's why one of President Trump's central campaign promises was to secure the border and
02:56end this invasion.
02:58In just under 100 days, 99 now to be exact, the president has overwhelmingly delivered on that
03:04promise.
03:05America's borders are now secure because of President Trump.
03:08He has restored the rule of law, enforced our immigration laws, and defended America's
03:14sovereignty.
03:15The president immediately declared a national emergency on the southern border, deployed
03:19the U.S. military and Border Patrol to repel the invasion, and ended reckless catch-and-release
03:24policies.
03:25The results have been nothing short of extraordinary.
03:28Between President Trump's inauguration in April 1 of this month, only nine illegal aliens were
03:33released into the United States, a staggering 99.99 percent decrease from the more than 184,000
03:42illegal aliens who were released into the country under Biden during the same period last year.
03:47The number of unaccompanied illegal alien children arriving at the border has also hit a record
03:53low.
03:53Total attempted illegal crossings at the southwest border hit a record low in February, only to fall
03:59to another new record low again last month in March.
04:03Just listen to these incredible numbers.
04:05In March 2024, under Joe Biden, Border Patrol encountered approximately 140,000 illegal aliens
04:12at the southwest border.
04:14One year later, in March 2025, under President Trump, Border Patrol encountered just over 7,000
04:20illegal aliens at the southwest border.
04:22That's another 95 percent decrease from the prior year.
04:25The first piece of legislation President Trump signed into law was the Lake and Riley Act,
04:31which requires illegal aliens arrested or charged with theft or violence to be detained.
04:36President Trump also reestablished the successful Remain in Mexico policy from his first term
04:41to ensure that aliens who arrive at our southern border and claim asylum are returned to Mexico
04:46to await their hearings instead of being allowed into our country while they wait.
04:50The president has also restarted construction of his signature advanced border wall.
04:55More than 85 miles of new border barrier are already in various stages of construction
05:00and planning.
05:02And Border Patrol, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and the great state of
05:06Texas, have deployed 75 additional miles of temporary barriers across the southern border.
05:11The Trump administration, as you know, has also ended the disastrous CBP-1 app, which
05:16Joe Biden exploited to facilitate the migration of nearly 1 million illegal aliens into the country.
05:21The Department of Homeland Security has relaunched this as the CBP-1 app to provide illegal aliens
05:27in the U.S., a straightforward way to declare their intent to voluntarily depart.
05:32For years, Joe Biden's weakness in open border policies allowed vicious cartels to functionally
05:37control through a campaign of terror, rape, and brutal force nearly all illegal traffic across
05:43the southern border.
05:44President Trump has put a stop to this in record time.
05:48He designated these heinous cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and invoked the Alien
05:53Enemies Act to immediately apprehend, detain, and remove these massive threats who have
05:58flooded our country with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs.
06:02The Trump administration is working 24-7 to successfully arrest and deport these illegal criminals and
06:08foreign terrorists from our communities.
06:10We are in the beginning stages of carrying out the largest deportation campaign in American
06:15history. Over this past weekend, it was announced that through Operation Tidal Wave, a joint effort
06:20between ICE Miami and Florida law enforcement agencies, nearly 800 illegal aliens were arrested
06:26during the first four days alone. Among those arrested were a Colombian murderer, alleged MS-13
06:33and 18th Street gang members, and a Russian with a red notice for manslaughter. And on the other
06:39side of the country, in the early Sunday morning hours, DOJ and DHS together launched a joint
06:45raid of an illegal alien underground nightclub used by Trend de Aragua in Colorado Springs,
06:50Colorado. DHS took more than 100 illegal aliens into custody, and many drugs and weapons were
06:56also seized. Operation Tidal Wave is a preview of what is to come around this country. Large-scale
07:03operations that employ our state and local enforcement partners to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.
07:09As always, President Trump and our entire administration are grateful for the courageous law enforcement
07:14officers who are putting their lives on the line every single day to protect their fellow Americans
07:18and to keep our country safe. After four years of being vilified and hamstrung by the Biden
07:23administration, heroic ICE and CBP officers finally have a president who has their backs and is allowing
07:29them to do the jobs they signed up to do. There's no person who can attest to that more than our
07:34incredible boarders are here at the White House, Tom Homan, who has dedicated his professional career to
07:39protecting our country and enforcing the law. I will let Tom deliver some short remarks and then
07:44we'll open it up for questions today. Thanks for being here, Tom.
07:47Thank you. Just a few things. Look, I started in the Border Patrol in 1984. I've been at this for over 40
07:54years. I've worked for six presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan. Every president I ever worked for
08:00took border security seriously because you can't have national security if you don't have strong border
08:05security. We've got to know who's coming in, what's coming in, where's coming in, why it's coming in, right?
08:10Even President Obama and President Clinton took some steps to secure the border because they understood
08:15national security was important. Joe Biden was the first president in the history of this nation
08:20who came into office and unsecured a border on purpose. That's just a fact.
08:26We handed the Biden administration after President Trump's first administration, we handed the Biden
08:32administration the most secure border in my lifetime, and he unsecured it on purpose.
08:38Now, President Trump and this administration here, the success is unprecedented. We beat
08:45Trump's first administration on border success. Border numbers are historic low. Today, as I'm standing here,
08:53we are the most secure border in the history of this nation, and the numbers prove it.
09:00President Trump's policies are saving lives every day. There's been studies done that says 31% of
09:06women that make that journey through use of cartels get sexually assaulted. When President Trump has
09:12illegal immigration down 96%, when 96% less people are coming, how many women aren't being sexually
09:18assaulted by the cartels? How many children aren't dying making that journey?
09:23How many women and children aren't being sex trafficked into this nation? How many known
09:27inspector terrorists aren't making it into this country? How many pounds of fat and all isn't
09:33getting into this country to kill young Americans? How many women and children aren't sex trafficked?
09:40Under Joe Biden, sex trafficking is up 600%. We had 4,000 aliens dying making that journey. We had a quarter
09:47million Americans dead from fat and all that came across an open border. President Trump's policy saves
09:52lives every day. Even the border wall saves lives. People want to hate on the border wall. Every
09:57place a border barrier has been built, illegal immigration's decline, illegal drug flows decline.
10:03But you know what no one talks about? The border wall saves lives. Because the most vulnerable,
10:08the women and children can't get over that wall, which means they're going to a place where there's not a wall.
10:12And what's waiting on them? The men and women of the United States border to who will take care of those
10:17humanitarian needs. The health needs are off the bat. We just want the numbers. Let me talk about a few
10:23numbers that are important to me. Under Biden administration, we averaged over 11,000 many days,
10:31over 12,000, some days, 15,000 illegal entrants to the United States. 15,000. You know what the number was
10:40the last 24 hours? 178. 15,000 to 178. Unprecedented success. On an average day in the Biden administration,
10:51known gotaways. People we knew crossed the border because they're on video, drone traffic or sensor
10:57traffic. Across the border, weren't apprehended, weren't fingerprinted, weren't vetted. Average
11:02day under Joe Biden, more than 1,800 gotaways. Yesterday, 38. 38 too many? We'll get that to zero.
11:12But we went from 1,800 to 38. And finally, that was said earlier, on the first 100 days,
11:20what was actually January 20th to April 1st, last year, 184,000 illegal aliens were released into
11:28the United States. Under this administration, nine. Four of them were material witnesses and a criminal
11:35investigation. We need them here to testify in a serious criminal trial. Four was extreme medical
11:40condition. We couldn't return them because they were in such bad shape. And one was humanitarian
11:46issue. This is unprecedented success. The border secure. President Trump saving lives. President
11:55Trump has proven no one does this better than President Trump. There is no equal. It's not even
12:00close. So God bless the men and women of the border patrol. God bless the men and women of ICE,
12:05who strap a gun to the hip every day, put on a Kevlar vest, to not only secure our border and protect
12:11our national security, but the ICE agents in the interior, they're removing public safety threats
12:15and national security threats every day. While you're all sleeping at two, three o'clock in the
12:20morning, there are men and women out there enforcing law and making this country safe again.
12:27And we're going to keep doing it. Full speed ahead. So I'll leave it at that. Awesome. Thank you,
12:32Tom. And thanks for all your great efforts. We do want to open it up to questions. If you have border-related
12:37questions for Mr. Holman, and I'm also happy to take any non-border-related questions, I'm happy to
12:41take border questions too, but Tom is here offering his time. So we encourage you to ask him questions.
12:45We'll start with our new media seat today. As always, Rogan O'Hanley, former Hollywood entertainment
12:50lawyer, I didn't know that, Rogan, who got fed up with the far-left ideologies of California and now
12:55posts conservative political commentary online for his more than seven million followers across all major
13:01platforms. He joins us today from the great state of Florida. Why don't you kick us off today, Rogan?
13:06Thank you, Caroline. In Trump's first 99 days, we've seen a coordinated assault on the rule of law
13:12by radical judges. We're thwarting his agenda with an unprecedented number of national injunctions.
13:18These judges are providing more due process to violent MS-13 and Trenda Aragua illegal aliens than
13:23they did for American citizens who peacefully protested on January 6th. As Stephen Miller has highlighted,
13:29it would be utterly ridiculous to have full trials and appeals for the more than 15 million illegal aliens that
13:34came across our border under Joe Biden. Many are now calling for Trump to circumvent these radical
13:41judges and consider suspending the rib of habeas corpus solely for these illegal aliens in accordance
13:46with the terms of Article 1, Section 9 of the United States Constitution, which explicitly allows for such a
13:52measure when there is a rebellion or invasion. Their strong precedent for this action being that it was
13:59exercised by three of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Democrats'
14:04favorite president of all time, FDR, all three of which are not only celebrated by historians but are
14:11immortalized on our national currency with their faces on there. Furthermore, all three used it against
14:16American citizens, where in this instance we would only be using it against illegal aliens. I think almost
14:21every reasonable American would agree that 15 million illegal aliens coming across our border under
14:26Joe Biden counts as an invasion, especially since many, as you highlighted, are now robbing, assaulting,
14:33raping, and killing American citizens. Historic assaults on our republic require reciprocal action from our
14:40government. Can you please let us know if and when the Trump administration is planning to suspend the writ of
14:45habeas corpus to circumvent these radical judges who are infringing on his Article 2 powers and to start shipping
14:51out illegals en masse? I have not heard such discussions take place, but I can assure you that the
14:57President and the entire administration are certainly open to all legal and constitutional remedies to ensure we can
15:03continue with the promise of deporting illegal criminals from our nation's borders. And I also agree with the premise of your
15:10question, which doesn't happen in this room often, but I do agree with yours. It is absurd that the previous
15:15administration was allowed to allow 15 million that we know about illegal aliens into this country
15:23with very little pushback from our judicial branch. But this President is trying to simply enforce our
15:29nation's immigration laws and is facing roadblock after roadblock. So we're compliant with court orders,
15:35but as Tom Homan has said every day, we're going to continue to forge ahead with this mass deportation
15:40campaign. And the President is open to all remedies to do that. Thanks for being here today, Rogan.
15:44If I can, if I can also answer your question, as far as the judges, look, we just arrested the judge,
15:51Pambani, for impeding ICE enforcement removals. I said from day one, you don't have to support ICE's
16:00operations. You can support sanctuary cities if that's what you desire to do. Sanctuary cities can
16:06stand aside and watch ICE keep their communities safe. Because any public official, whether your mayor,
16:11city councilman or governor, their number one responsibility is protecting the communities.
16:15And ICE has been clear, we're targeting public safety threats and national security threats.
16:19I can't believe there's any elected official and especially a judge that doesn't believe we should
16:24be doing that and they should be helping us. But ICE up from day one, you can sit aside and watch,
16:28you can argue against us all you want and protest all you want. But when you cross that line,
16:33I've said this a thousand times, when you cross that line to an impediment or knowingly harboring
16:39concealing an illegal alien from ICE, you will be prosecuted, judge or not. And as far as releasing
16:45so many people, you know why the Biden administration released millions of people in the United States?
16:50No one ever talks about it. I'll talk about it. Why did they release people into the interior of the
16:55United States rather than put them into an ice bed? Why not put them in an empty ice bed,
16:59$127 a night rather than in a hotel room at $500 a night? They did it on purpose,
17:05because when you put them in an ice detention bed, they get a hearing in 35 days.
17:10Court records show nine out of 10 people claim asylum, get order removal, they're gone. But if you
17:15release them and put them in a hotel room at $500 a night, their hearings could be five, seven,
17:20nine years, you pull out all appeals. And what are they hoping for then? That another
17:24Democrat administration is in power. They can warrant amnesty to millions.
17:30This is about selling this country off for future political power.
17:33That's what it was. The law clearly says, if you arrive at our border without proper
17:38documentation, you shall be detained. Not maybe, not think about it, shall. And that's what President
17:44Trump's doing. Catching leases is over. That's what the law says, and that's what we've done.
17:49A question on Abrego Garcia, if I can. The President recently said when it comes to
17:55facilitating his release, he's leaving that up to his lawyers. So just to be clear,
17:59have there been any negotiations between the U.S. and El Salvador over his release or facilitating
18:04his release? I will tell you what the President of El Salvador told all of you in the Oval Office.
18:09El Salvador does not intend to smuggle a designated foreign terrorist back into the United States. He is
18:15an El Salvadorian national. That is his home country. That is where he belongs. And the
18:21administration intends to comply with what President Bukele said of El Salvador. He does
18:26not intend to send that individual back. So that's a no. There's been no talks.
18:30What I have told you is that the President of El Salvador has made this quite clear. Kate.
18:34Caroline, can you tell us more about the meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky over
18:39the weekend? Did that meeting change anything? Did Trump leave that meeting thinking differently
18:44about negotiations and next steps on this? Look, the President talked about this after
18:49the meeting himself yesterday when he took questions from reporters on Air Force One.
18:53He thinks that he is increasingly frustrated with leaders of both countries. He wants to see a
18:58permanent ceasefire. I understand Vladimir Putin this morning offered a temporary ceasefire. The
19:03President has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire. First, to stop the killing,
19:09stop the bloodshed. And while he remains optimistic, he can strike a deal. He's also
19:15being realistic as well. And both leaders need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of
19:20this. And I do think that the President meeting with President Zelensky shows that he is exuding a lot
19:25of effort and time into this because he wants to be a peacemaker president, which he was in his first
19:29term. He intends to do that again. And this is an incredibly difficult situation and conflict that
19:35President Trump inherited from President Biden, who allowed this war to start in the first place.
19:39But he's focused on solving this problem. Does anyone have border questions?
19:44Sure. Thank you, Caroline. If border crossings are at a record low,
19:49why should it still be considered an emergency?
19:52It's because of what has happened on the last administration.
20:02We've got to ensure that not one ounce of fentanyl comes across the court to kill Americans.
20:06The President has declared the cartels of Mexico a terrorist organization, along with MS-13 TDA.
20:11They've killed more Americans than every terrorist organization in the world combined.
20:16It's an emergency until we shut it down. It's an emergency until the cartels are wiped off the
20:21face of this earth. President Trump's committed to saving every life. Now, I just mentioned
20:28Godaways 38 yesterday. Who are the Godaways? Where do they come from? We had over 2 million
20:35Godaways under Joe Biden's administration. Why did 2 million people pay more to get away?
20:40On the Biden administration, you pay a cartel this amount of money to cross the border.
20:44The cartel's job ends at the border. Just turn yourself in a green uniform.
20:49Get released in 24 hours. Get a free airline ticket to the city of your choice.
20:54Get a free hotel room. Get three meals a day. Get free medical care.
20:58Get work authorization in 9 to 120 days, which is the real reason I came here.
21:02Why did 2 million people pay more to get away?
21:08Because they didn't want to be vetted. They didn't want to be fingerprinted.
21:11We've arrested over 400 people on the terrorist watch that's coming across the southern border
21:15in four years. How many of the 2 million came from country sponsoring terror? You think it's zero?
21:22Then you're ignorant.
21:25This is the biggest national security failure this country's ever seen.
21:28This is a border emergency until we end it, end all of it. We're making good strides.
21:33Right now, it's still an emergency until we shut it down.
21:35Go ahead. This is a question for Mr. Homan. Late last week, there were three U.S. citizen
21:41children who were removed with their mothers who were in the United States illegally. There have
21:47been a federal judge in Louisiana who was appointed by President Trump said that he was concerned that
21:52there was, quote, no meaningful process. Are you concerned that due process, at least for the U.S.
21:58citizen children is being flouted and that the speed at which the enforcement is being done could lead
22:05to errors, as was the case in the Kilmer-Abrego Garcia case? And then also, if you could give an
22:09update on the deportation numbers under this administration and whether you're pleased with
22:13them. First of all, I don't accept the term error in Abrego Garcia. There is an oversight.
22:21There's a withholding order. But things have changed. The facts from the withholding order has
22:25changed. He is now a terrorist, which is withholding order set aside. And the gang he was fearing from
22:30being removed to El Salvador no longer exists. So the facts around that case are totally different.
22:34I'll let the lawyers litigate that. But as far as the U.S. three U.S. kids, I'd say from day one
22:40that if you enter this country legally, it's a crime. If you remain in this country legally and you
22:44ignore a judge's order about deporting, if you choose to have a U.S. citizen child knowing you're in
22:50this country legally, you put yourself in that position. You put your family in that position.
22:56What we did is remove children with their mothers who requested their children depart with them.
23:00This was a parental decision. Parenting 101. The mothers made that choice. And I tell you what,
23:07if we didn't do it, the story today would be the Trump administration separating families again. No,
23:11we're keeping families together. So when a parent says, I want my two-year-old baby to go with me,
23:18we made that happen. They weren't deported. We don't deport U.S. citizens. The parents made that
23:22decision, not in the United States government. But I don't hear any questions about Lincoln Riley
23:27had a mother. She's never going to see her child again. Rachel Morin, she had five children.
23:36Those children are never going to see their mom again. This administration is doing the right thing.
23:40Every public safety threat we arrest from this country and will them. This country is much safer.
23:44So parents will make the decision what happens to their child. Having a U.S. citizen child
23:48does not make you immune from our laws. If that's the message we send the entire world,
23:54enter the country legally. It's a crime. Don't worry about it. Get order removed by an immigration
23:58judge. Don't worry about it. No one's looking for you. And have a U.S. citizen child and you're
24:03immune from our laws, you're never going to fix the border. People will keep putting themselves
24:07in harm's way. More women will die. More children will die crossing this border. We got to secure a border
24:13by enforcing our laws. We're not making this up. We're enforcing laws under statute,
24:16enacted by Congress, and it's the right thing to do. Can you give an update on the deportation
24:20numbers under this administration? What are you asking for? We just provided the numbers.
24:24The number of deportations that have occurred under this administration,
24:26and whether you're pleased with that.
24:31Last number I got was 139,000 deportations. Am I happy with the numbers? The numbers are good.
24:37Especially if you look at the ICE numbers. The ICE arrest removals are far beyond Biden.
24:42Well, I read the media. Oh, the deportations are behind Biden administration. Well, why?
24:48Because they counted border removals. We don't have 10.5 million people crossing the border.
24:53We don't have border removals. So Joe Biden could have deported 5% of his encounters,
24:59and numbers will still be higher than us on the border removals because we have a secure border,
25:03the most secure border in the history of this nation. Compare apples to apples,
25:07ICE arrests and deportations are far more than Joe Biden. That's right.
25:13Sure, go ahead. Mr. Holman, talking about the border wall,
25:16can you give us an update as far as how many miles are being built today? And is Mexico paying for it,
25:23as the president said that we're going to? Well, first of all, I'll answer that question because
25:28I already answered it in my opening remarks. To date, since January 1st, there's been more than 85
25:33miles of new border wall construction in various stages of that construction and planning. The
25:39president has made it clear to Congress that we want to see more funding for not just border wall
25:45construction, but also to support our ICE agents and our border patrol agents who are on the ground
25:50facilitating with this mass deportation effort. So he's clear that Mexico is not going to pay for it?
25:55Is that what you're saying? Let's address that. Trump said Mexico won't pay for the wall.
25:59They have in a roundabout way, have they not? Putting 10,000 military on the northern southern
26:05border, taking the action they did to remain in Mexico. They didn't have to do that. They're
26:08doing it. Putting military on the southern border. Have moved illegal immigration to a record low.
26:13We're saving millions of dollars every day on detention, transportation, removal proceedings.
26:20We've more than made up for the cost of that wall because of the actions of Mexico. So is Mexico
26:24helping build that wall? Yeah, because we're saving so much money, millions of dollars a day,
26:29that we can afford to build that wall. So actually, yes, they're hoping to build a wall.
26:34Thanks a lot, Caroline. Mr. Holman, a question for you. Here the borders are.
26:38Can you give an estimate as to how many individuals are in the United States illegally? That's number one.
26:45And I'm sure you're very familiar with that number and estimate. And the second question is,
26:49I have a list that the White House put out of individuals, 100 ICE arrests since the beginning of
26:55the president's term. And the people are arrested for various, very serious crimes. First degree
27:02murder, convicted of rape, convicted of murder and aggravated burglary, sexual assault of a child.
27:10How many of the individuals that are in the United States illegally are people like this, really bad
27:17people? Well, first of all, how many illegal aliens I think in the United States? At least 20 million.
27:24Here's the word you come up with that number. We've been speaking about 12 million for 20 years.
27:27We know we got 10.5 that we know of came to the border. How many don't we know of?
27:31I talked about known gotaways at 2 million. How many unknown gotaways we have? Like between the
27:36big bend sector in Texas, where there's no technology. How many thousand people dig across
27:41from there? We wouldn't know. We would know now. But, you know, so I would venture over 20 million.
27:47But your question is, last count, we guys, last I looked, there was about 700,000 illegal aliens with
27:53criminal charges walking the streets of this country. 700,000. And that's what we're looking for now.
28:00That's what we're prioritizing. Them and national security threats.
28:04We'll go to the back room. Thanks, Caroline. For Mr. Holman, I'm Taylor with Spectrum News.
28:09We have a station up in Rochester, New York. It was recorded you're visiting there tomorrow.
28:13Can you talk a bit about the purpose of your trip? I know the Trump administration
28:16is suing the city over its sanctuary city policies. How the executive order Caroline alluded to
28:21ties into it. And what your message is for communities and community leaders who say,
28:26we're able to establish our own rules here. We're worried about this input from the federal level.
28:31Can you talk a bit about that? Well, same thing I talked about earlier.
28:36I don't think any elected mayor, any elected governor should want public safety threats.
28:42Those illegally in the United States, public safety threats walking through the community.
28:46And what happened in Rochester, HSI agent called for emergency assistance. Officers of Rochester PD
28:55responded to a call from emergency assistance from a federal law enforcement officer. They responded.
29:04Then they got disappointed. I don't think anybody can come up with one instance where an ICE agent,
29:10a board patrol agent didn't respond to emergency call from assistance from any law enforcement agency.
29:16Cops need to help cops, especially in the emergency situation. But they got disciplined.
29:21And I met those officers down in Nashville soon after that. I think it was a couple days after it.
29:26And I told them I stand with them. They did the right thing.
29:30Law enforcement responding to emergency assistance from law enforcement.
29:33So I'm going up there to support the men and women law enforcement, the men and women who carry that
29:38badge and gun every day. They're working the streets at 2 a.m. while we're all sleeping.
29:43I'm going to give my support. And they just announced a lawsuit. And that's one of many.
29:47Sanctuary City is going to be sued on this administration for plotting immigration law.
29:52I mean, the law is clear. And they're violating it. And this administration is going to take actions.
29:56I'm going up there to show my support of men and women law enforcement. I started as a cop.
30:00And the community. I'm showing support for them. Because the community wants your police officers
30:04to be officers, too. The communities don't want public safety threats walking around their communities,
30:09either. And that's what it's all about. And that's why I'm going.
30:15How close are you to housing migrants at U.S. DOD facilities like Port Bliss in Texas?
30:23Well, we're already housing at Guantanamo. Port Bliss is being ramped up. So we're in the very
30:32near future. I don't have a timetable because things need to be done. Construction needs to be done.
30:37We're making sure the facilities are ready to accept. We're making sure the facilities are able to care
30:41for the people that are going to be detained. So I don't know the timeline right now. It changes every
30:47day because of various issues. But we're working on it. Are you intending to hold families there,
30:52including families with American citizen children? Family residential centers are for families.
30:58They're not jails. They're open air campers built for families, which means they have child
31:02psychologists, they have pediatricians. And why family residential centers? Because we want to make
31:08sure that child is with a parent. Unlike the last administration who stopped DNA testing, who
31:16many investigations of children being smuggled in the country with some that wasn't related to them
31:20claiming to be a parent. So we want to make sure children are with parents. We're going to make
31:25sure that's actually a family and that child ain't being trafficked. That's the main reason.
31:29Question. Regarding the executive order on sanctuary cities, is the administration
31:35planning to pursue any more investigations or prosecutions like was done against the judge in
31:39Wisconsin against local officials? Well, we'd have to defer you to the Department of Justice,
31:45obviously, for specific prosecutions or cases against individuals. But as I said in my remarks,
31:51the executive order the president will sign later this afternoon does direct the Attorney General and
31:56also Kristi Noem, our great Secretary of Homeland Security, to provide a list of sanctuary cities in
32:02which local officials are not complying with this federal order and are not complying with federal
32:09immigration laws. It's quite simple. Obey the law, respect the law,
32:13and don't obstruct federal immigration officials and law enforcement officials when they are simply
32:19trying to remove public safety threats from our nation's communities. The American public don't
32:24want illegal alien criminals in their communities. They made that quite clear on November 5th. And
32:29this administration is determined to enforce our nation's immigration laws. And we're happy to
32:33provide the text of that executive order. And as I said, the president will be signing it later this
32:37afternoon. Sure. Excuse me. I want to talk about farm workers. The president said earlier this month that
32:43there could be leniency for some undocumented farm workers. I'm wondering, where do things stand
32:48with that? And I'm also wondering, does that at all undermine his message on immigration,
32:52that it's okay for some undocumented people to be in the U.S., but maybe not others?
32:55Well, the president was referring to our H-1B and H-1A visa programs,
33:00and there have been no final decisions on that at all. But the president, I think,
33:04what he was intended to speak about, what he was speaking about,
33:07is ensuring that we have a clean legal immigration system that is being respected and obeyed. And the
33:14mass amount of illegal immigration that we've seen over the past four years in our country completely
33:18undermines our illegal immigration system. Those seeking citizenship, but also those coming here on
33:24a visa to legally and lawfully work. And the president wants to make sure that those programs are respected.
33:31Reagan. Thanks, Caroline. My question is for Tom. Tom, Reagan Reese with The Daily Caller.
33:36Over the weekend, I arrested two illegal immigrants for allegedly stealing Secretary Noem's purse over
33:41the weekend. What can you tell us about these individuals' immigration history as well as their
33:45criminal history? I don't have the criminal history, but I know the one who stole the purse is
33:53supposedly in the country illegally. But, you know, picked the wrong person to steal a first run.
33:58I mean, Secretary Noem's a strong, strong secretary. I know I've been talking about the success of
34:03men and women in the Border Patrol and ICE, but under her strong leadership, she's a game changer.
34:09So I'm happy to work with her, despite the media I've read that me and Kristi Noem have differences.
34:14Me and Kristi Noem are attached to the hip. There's no daylight between us. We're both going to push the
34:18president's agenda. She's a strong secretary, and I'm glad she's in here. And I'm glad,
34:23what, again, that illegal alien? Picked the wrong, picked the wrong person, steal a purse from me.
34:28Good decision. Mary Margaret, go ahead.
34:31Thank you, Caroline. And two questions, one for Mr. Holman, one for you on the White House
34:34Personnel Center. I'd like to start with you, though, Tom Holman. This list has a very high number
34:39of sexual assaults on a child. Can you comment on that and why there's so many crimes against
34:45children committed by illegals in this country? I don't know why. It's sick. It's the worst crime
34:53in the world when you sexually assault a child. I mean, the most innocent of us all. But that's
34:58why I made a statement that one time I was going to go to Boston, bring hell with me, and the media
35:03went crazy. At the time, Holman says we're from Boston, bring hell with them. I was going to bring hell
35:07to illegal aliens that raped children. There's not more of a heinous crime. And as you can see,
35:13the amount of child rapists we've arrested under this administration that could have been arrested
35:18under Biden administration. They were out there. They had their final orders. They were out there,
35:22but they didn't go look for them. They were too busy releasing millions of illegal aliens in this
35:27country. And the numbers prove it. The removal numbers of criminals was the lowest. ICE had the lowest
35:33number of removals in the history of ICE under Joe. At the same time, you had historic illegal
35:39immigration on the border. ICE had the lowest numbers in the history of the agency. That shows
35:44the difference between two administrations. We're looking for every one of them. People want to know,
35:47okay, am I going to retire for the third time? I'll retire when every public safety threat,
35:53national security threat, child rapists eradicate from this country. That's when I'll rest.
35:57Thank you so much. And then, Caroline, really quick. Alex Thompson said at the White House
36:01Correspondence Center, and I'm going to read his quote. President Biden's decline and its cover
36:06up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of the party,
36:10is capable of deception. We, myself included, miss a lot of this story, and some people trust us
36:15less because of it. Can you comment on those remarks and whether you agree with that assessment?
36:20I do agree with that assessment from Alex Thompson, who I understand won an award
36:25for writing a story months and perhaps years after the American people already knew that story to be true.
36:32Millions of Americans watched our mentally incompetent president struggle with his day-to-day
36:36duties of this office. We watched our country be ran into the ground as a result. And nobody in the
36:42media wanted to write about that, talk about it. There were many, many reporters, I will say,
36:48right-leaning reporters who did talk about that, who didn't get awards, didn't get coverage. In fact,
36:53they were lambasted for their coverage. And I remember being on President Trump's campaign,
36:58talking about Joe Biden's clear mental incompetence and being accused by people in this room of
37:04manufacturing deep fake videos, trying to persuade the public into not believing what they saw with
37:11their own eyes for many years. And I think it's about time the legacy media finally admits that was
37:16one of the greatest cover-ups and scandals that ever took place in American history. And certainly,
37:21it did contribute to the decline in the trust that Americans have for the legacy media.
37:27Which, by the way, is why we've made many changes to this briefing room in this White House. It's
37:30long overdue. Peter, go ahead. Thank you. A few things. You guys arrested a Milwaukee County
37:36circuit judge for allegedly helping illegal immigrants get away. As you guys look at other
37:42judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain, like a federal judge or
37:49even a Supreme Court justice? That's a hypothetical question. Again, I'd defer you to the Department
37:54of Justice for individuals that they are looking at or individual cases. But let's be clear about
37:59what this judge did. She obstructed federal law enforcement who were looking for an illegal alien
38:04in her courthouse. She showed that illegal alien the door to evade law enforcement officials.
38:09That is a clear-cut case of obstruction. You don't have to be a lawyer to understand that.
38:14And so anyone who is breaking the law or obstructing federal law enforcement officials from doing their
38:19jobs is putting themselves at risk of being prosecuted. Absolutely. You guys have at least 18
38:25written trade proposals. We still don't know who they are from or what they contain. What is the holdup
38:33with that? There's no holdup. We're working around the clock. The trade team is working all day. I was on
38:38the phone late last night with Secretary Lutnik. I was on the phone this weekend as well with Secretary
38:43Bessett. I mean, the entire team is working 24-7 to get these trade deals done. And I think you'll
38:49be hearing more about them this week. I don't want to get ahead of the trade team or the president in
38:53announcing potential deals. But certainly, I can assure the American public that this administration
38:59is full speed ahead in cutting good and fair trade deals on behalf of the American worker.
39:04And one more. After the president's true social post, the Browns finally took Shader
39:09Sanders. Does the president think he deserves credit for Sanders getting picked?
39:15And does he think going to the Browns is better than being undrafted?
39:18Hey, all I will say is the president put out a statement and a few rounds later,
39:25he was drafted. So I think the facts speak for themselves on that one, Peter.
39:29We'll go to the back row in the middle, to the blonde. Yes. Hello.
39:33President Trump has said that Secretary Hegseth will get it together. Does he think that
39:37Hegseth doesn't have it together right now? Look, the president has made his position on
39:41Secretary Hegseth quite clear. He absolutely has confidence in the secretary's ability to lead the
39:47Pentagon. It's why he nominated him for this position. It's why the Senate voted to confirm him
39:51in this position. And look at the success that DOD has had thus far, their successful operation
39:56against the Houthi terrorists in the Middle East. You look at the recruitment and retention levels
40:00for all branches of our armed forces are on the incline, which is exactly what this president
40:06intended to do. Secretary Hegseth has completely wiped out DEI from the Pentagon as well. And so
40:13he's going to remain focused on standing up for our war fighters on implementing President Trump's
40:18peace through strength, foreign policy agenda abroad. And the president supports him in his role.
40:23Secretary Hegseth. Sure. Many are wondering how these 10 or 20 million people are working.
40:31Is there some efforts to clamp down on employment? Because they're working somewhere to keep staying
40:36here. The number of work site enforcement actions have tripled this year, and it's going to triple
40:44again. Because in sanctuary jurisdictions especially, if we can't arrest a bad guy in the safety and
40:50security of a county jail, they're going to release them into community, that means we go into the
40:54community. If we can't arrest them in the community, we'll arrest them at their work site.
41:00We got to do what we got to do to arrest public safety threats. There's no sanctuary for public
41:04safety threats in this country. So work site enforcement is going to increase even more than it
41:09already has. And another reason for work site, the last administration stopped work sites.
41:13Where's the number one place where we find victims of trafficking? Victims of forced labor trafficking
41:21and work sites. So not only are we going to enforce law on work sites, we're going to save victims of
41:26trafficking. That's another reason we've increased work site enforcement.
41:29We'll take one more question. This is for Mr. Holman. We all walk by these heinous yard signs that are
41:40along Pebble Beach. What is some of the feedback that your ICE agents are getting in the field from
41:47the community as they remove these individuals from their families, their neighborhoods, their schools,
41:52or all the places in their community? What's been the reaction that your ICE agents have gotten from the
41:57people who live amongst these individuals? The morale of ICE and Border Patrol is at all-time high
42:05because they're getting to uphold the oath they took and they're enforcing the law. Border Patrol and
42:11the Biden administration, I met with hundreds of them. They felt like Uber drivers and tourist
42:15agents. These men and women join the ranks of ICE and Border Patrol to enforce the law and make the
42:20community safer and protect national security. I hear it all the time. There's a lot of people in this
42:25country don't like me. I don't care. But when I walk to an airport, I have many people walking up to
42:32me and thank me for what I'm doing. And I'm not taking credit for anything. The success of the border
42:37and immigration enforcement is President Trump and the men and women wearing that uniform. God bless each
42:43of them. But I take a pleasure in seeing it because in 40 years of doing this job, people always want to
42:50say, why are you so emotional when you testify? Why are you so emotional on the network? Because if
42:54they wore my shoes for 40 years, they'd understand why I'm emotional. I've talked to little girls as
42:58young as nine years old or raped multiple times by the cartel members. And when you get to your knees
43:04and you talk to that little girl and everything innocent and pure has been ripped from her,
43:08when you listen to the Lake and Riley 17 minutes, that young lady fighting for her life,
43:12don't just think, okay, a young woman died. Think of how she died, the terror that she went through.
43:18And these children are sexually assaulted. I stood in the back of a tractor trailer and 19 dead people
43:23at my feet that baked to death. Illegal immigration is not a victimous crime. And so every sick person
43:32we take off the streets, especially child rapists, it makes this country much safer. Every illegal alien we
43:38arrest public safety threat one at a time makes this country safer. But I got one thing I need to say
43:43real quick before I leave. Take your notes from me, Tom. Take my notes from me. I'm going to read it,
43:48Tom. I don't want a misinterpretation of what I'm reading. The registration requirements under 8
43:53USG 1302, if you're illegal alien in the United States, this message is for you. You cannot hide from ICE.
44:00We're actively looking for you. Federal law requires every alien in the United States who has been
44:06present in the United States for more than 30 days needs to register. For those 14 years or older,
44:12you need to be fingerprinted with the Department of Homeland Security. Federal law requires every alien
44:17in the United States to tell DHS in writing if you have a change in address within 10 days of changing
44:22that address. Failing to register with DHS and failure to tell DHS about your new address are criminal
44:28offenses and they will be treated as such. Starting today. Make no mistake, if you're in the country
44:37illegally and you fail to do what the law requires, we will prosecute you, you will go to jail, then we'll
44:43deport you. Second law penalties for failure to depart, 8 USC 1253. If you're alien inside the United States,
44:51there's a final order. This message is for you. If you have a final order,
44:55the Trump administration is committed to enforcing our immigration laws, especially for those aliens
45:01who have received final orders of deportation. There are currently around 1.4 million illegal
45:07aliens who have been ordered removed but remain here in violation of the law. We will aggressively
45:12prosecute consistent with longstanding law. Those aliens for failing or refusing to depart
45:20or who takes other related actions aimed at hindering the removal. You cannot open the door. You cannot
45:27answer questions. You cannot open your car door. You consider to evade law enforcement. If you fail to
45:34leave the United States after receiving a removal order, we can and will issue monetary fines up to $998 a day.
45:41Evading your arrest knowing you have a final order or removal is a criminal offense. We will prosecute,
45:52then we'll then we'll deport you. Get your affairs in order. If you're in the country illegally,
45:58work with ICE, go to CBP one home app and leave on your own. Because we have to find it, deport you and
46:05prosecute you. You'll have a bar placed on you and you won't come back to this country. You won't
46:11be able to come back on a visitor's visa, a tourist visa. If you have a U.S. citizen child, can't
46:14petition for you. If you're in this country, get your affairs in order and work with us and get
46:21yourself removed in this country. That's what law requires and we're going to enforce that law.
46:25Thank you so much, Tom. You can get back to work now. Look, he's already leaving.
46:30He's got a lot to do, a lot of illegal immigrants to deport. But thanks, everyone,
46:34for joining us bright and early this morning. As I said at the top, we will do this again tomorrow
46:38to talk about the economy, which is another promise made and kept by the president. And
46:42I'll be joined by the Secretary of Treasury, Scott Besant, 8.30 tomorrow morning. Today,
46:47the president is welcoming the Super Bowl champions, Philadelphia Eagles. If we have any
46:51Philly fans, that will be at four o'clock. And then the president will sign those executive orders
46:55I spoke of and a few others at 5 p.m. So we'll see you all later. Have a great day.