Karoline Leavitt Asked Point Blank If White House Can 'Prove' That All Deportees Were Gang Members

2 days ago

During a White House press briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if the Trump Administration can prove that every single individual who was deported to El Salvador, despite a court order calling for a flight pause, is a gang member.

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00:00poses in court later today.

00:01And for people who have due process questions

00:04about making certain that there wasn't anyone

00:07who was swept up who did not meet the criteria

00:10that you laid out, is there a way for the administration

00:12to provide more detail about how that was determined,

00:16who the individuals were that met this deportation order?

00:21Yes, I can assure the American people

00:23that Customs and Border Patrol and ICE

00:25and the Department of Homeland Security

00:27are sure about the identities of the individuals

00:30who were on these planes

00:31and the threat that they posed to our homeland.

00:34They take this incredibly seriously.

00:36They are putting their lives on the line

00:38to deport these designated terrorists from our country,

00:42and they should be trusted to do that.

00:43And that's exactly what the American people

00:45elected this president to do.

00:46Go ahead.

00:47Thanks, Caroline.

00:47Just to follow up on that then.

00:49So you're saying definitively that the administration

00:51can prove everyone that was put on those flights in El Salvador

00:55was either a member of Trinidad Agua,

00:57MS-13, or some other entity?

00:59Yeah. We've already provided the breakdown

01:01in the effort of transparency

01:03about the 261 illegal aliens who were deported.

01:07137 of those were deported under the Alien Enemies Act.

01:10101 of those were Venezuelans removed via Title VIII,

01:14which, as you know, are just regular immigration proceedings.

01:17And 23 of them were MS-13 Salvadorian gang members.

01:21There were also two MS-13 ringleaders

01:24as part of that group of 23 who President Bukele

01:27particularly expressed his gratitude for their return

01:30so he can demand justice in his home country.

01:33Jennifer.

01:34What criteria, though, other than, say, tattoos

01:38or maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong time,

01:42are they using to determine that someone is actually a member

01:45of one of these organizations?

01:47Intelligence and the men and women on the ground

01:50in the interior of our country

01:52who are finally being allowed to do their jobs,

01:54their hands were tied under the previous administration.

01:57And as I said, they take their jobs very seriously.

02:00They should be trusted and respected

02:02by the American public with this operation.

02:05And, of course, as I said to Kelly,

02:07the administration will provide all details

02:10to the questions that the court poses.

02:12Jennifer.

02:13One more follow-up on that.

02:14Can you say how much the U.S.

02:15is paying El Salvador to imprison these Venezuelans?

02:20And then a different question on Russia.

02:22I was wondering if you could give us an update

02:23on the ceasefire negotiations.

02:25And is there anything you can share on the list

02:28that Putin gave, passed along to President Trump,

02:30for the things he's requesting?

02:32Sure. To your first question,

02:33it was approximately $6 million to El Salvador

02:37for the detention of these foreign terrorists.

02:40And I would point out that is pennies on the dollar

02:42in comparison to the cost of life

02:46and the cost it would impose on the American taxpayer

02:48to house these terrorists in maximum-security prisons

02:52here in the United States of America.

02:53And I would echo the message

02:55of our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio,

02:57who expressed his gratitude to President Bukele

03:00and El Salvador's government

03:02for their cooperation in this deal.

03:04As for Russia, as you know,

03:06the President announced last night on Air Force One,

03:08on his return from his very busy weekend in Florida,

03:12that he will be speaking to President Putin tomorrow.

03:15I won't get ahead of those negotiations,

03:17but I can say we are on the 10th yard line of peace,

03:20and we've never been closer to a peace deal

03:22than we are in this moment.

03:24And the President, as you know, is determined to get one done.

03:29Sure.

Karoline Leavitt Asked Point Blank If White House Can 'Prove' That All Deportees Were Gang Members

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