Trump Press Secretary Freaks Out Over Questions About Deportations
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt flailed Monday when asked about the government’s shady system for classifying gang members. Desperate to dodge the question, Leavitt went on a tirade claiming that the reporter had no right to ask about it in the first place.
Outside of the White House, the Independent’s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg attempted to ask Leavitt about how immigration authorities had been designating individuals as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and therefore potentially subject to deportation under the Alien Enemies Act.
Documents in a new court filing from the government stated that for an individual to be classified as a member of TdA, all they need to do is be a Venezeulan person older than 14 years and score eight points on a survey of different characteristics, including having symbols in their tattoos or wearing certain logos, which were worth four points each. Feinberg did the math.
“You can get classified by simply having certain symbols in your tattoos and wearing certain streetwear brands—that alone is enough to get someone classified as TdA and sent to El Salvador,” Feinberg said.
“That’s not true, actually, Andrew,” Leavitt snapped. Feinberg insisted he was simply reading from court documents filed by the government.
“No, according to Department of Homeland Security and the agents—have you talked to the agents who have been putting their lives on the line to detain these foreign terrorists who have been terrorizing our communities?” Leavitt asked.
“I–I’m not denying that—” Feinberg said, but Leavitt continued.
“TdA is a vicious gang that has taken the lives of American women, and our agents on the front lines take up deporting these people with the utmost seriousness, and there is a litany of criteria that they use to ensure that these individuals qualify as foreign terrorists, and to ensure, to ensure that they qualify for deportation,” she said.
“And shame on you, and shame on the mainstream media for trying to cover for these individuals who have—this is a vicious gang, Andrew! This is a vicious gang that has taken the lives of American women!”
“I’m not trying to cover for anyone,” Feinberg insisted, but Leavitt continued to attack Feinberg for even asking about the documents, once again unable to account for the government she purports to represent.
“And you said yourself there are eight criteria on that document! And you are questioning the credibility of these agents who are putting their life on the line to protect your life, and the life of everybody in this group and the life of everybody across the country? And their credibility should be questioned? They finally have a president who is allowing them to do their jobs, and God bless them for doing it,” Leavitt fumed.
Unfortunately for Leavitt, she works with the very journalists who are responsible for asking questions about the government’s wrongdoings—and when it comes to Donald Trump’s mass deportations, there seem to have been some significant ones.
New documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union on Sunday showed that the tattoos ICE is using to identify individuals as TdA gang members included a range of innocuous images such as the Jordan “Jumpman” logo, a crown, a train, and a clock, among other things. Representatives for at least three of the people deported earlier this month claim that they were wrongly classified as gang members over their tattoos.
Because the 261 detainees deported to El Salvador earlier this month were removed under the AEA, they were stripped of due process and the opportunity to legally challenge their designation as TdA members. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that another 17 individuals were deported there on Tuesday, alleging that they were members of MS-13 and TdA—possibly violating a court order.