White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said all illegal immigrants are criminals, as they broke U.S. immigration laws.
During Leavitt's first press conference, a reporter asked the new press secretary how many of the 3,500 illegal migrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement since President Donald Trump's January 20 inauguration "have a criminal record versus those who are just in the country illegally."
"All of them, because they illegally broke our nation's laws. And therefore they are criminals as far as this administration goes," Leavitt responded. "I know the last administration didn't see it that way, so it's a big culture shift in our nation to view someone who breaks our immigration laws as a criminal. But that's exactly what they are."
ICE agents have made thousands of arrests across the country, as Trump works to fulfill his campaign promise of cracking down on illegal immigration. Under the Biden administration, an estimated 8 million migrants entered the United States illegally, with more than 13,000 illegal migrants convicted of murder remaining at large, according to ICE data.
Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, said deportation efforts are just beginning. "We're going to enforce immigration law," Homan said. "That's what we’re going to do, without apology."