One of President Donald Trump's top priorities, as well as best issues, has been his crackdown on illegal immigration. As he has warned, criminals from countries in Central America and South America have been coming over illegally from prisons. While the left, including in the mainstream media, have mocked Trump for such narratives, these warnings have proven to be true.
Over the weekend, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Gleiber Teran-Figueroa was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Buffalo. He had previously robbed a bank and escaped a prison in his home country after being convicted of theft, a senior administration official with the Trump administration shared exclusively with Townhall. The arrest took place on Saturday.
That ICE would be cracking down on arresting illegal immigrants across the country under the Trump administration is hardly shocking, given how the president made it a priority on the campaign trail and during both of his administrations. It was also a top issue for voters especially leading into the 2024 election, and whether Trump was running against President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris as the replacement nominee, he consistently bested his opponent. His handling of immigration, as well as his deportation programs, remain popular, as a CBS News poll from last week showed.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has spoken about the priority of arresting and deporting illegal criminals and has even suited up to do so herself.
Noem also appeared on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday to tout the administration's efforts on immigration. She spoke about ICE throughout the segment, including how she's "expanding" efforts and naming new personnel members.
"Adding more people to the team," Noem explained, "is going to allow us to partner with local law enforcement officials to make sure that we truly are following through on enforcing the law. And, if you break our law, then there's going to be consequences."
Later in the segment, Noem spoke about a desire for a rise in deportations, including self-deportations, and how ICE has been assisting with that. After having been asked about deporting terrorists by host Margaret Brennan, the secretary explained that "22 known...terrorists on the terrorist watch list are out of this country now," adding that "we have almost 700 gang members that have been deported out of the country in just a month."
As Noem also reminded, the second Trump administration has seen record low encounters at the southern border. When Brennan asked about the numbers, which Noem referred to as "fantastic," the secretary also spoke to "continuing the partnership" in keeping U.S. military personnel and other departments, including but not solely the Department of Defense.
"But we're going to keep them there until the whole world gets the message that this isn't Joe Biden's world anymore," Noem said about keeping military personnel stationed. "This is President Donald Trump's country, where we have a border, where we have laws, and it applies equally to everybody. I think that is what is so refreshing, is that we're not picking and choosing winners and losers anymore," she continued, also adding that "Americans have to live by the law. So do those who come to this country. You have to come here legally, or there will be consequences."
These recorded lows come after December 2023 experienced record high encounters under the Biden administration before the month was even finished.
Speaking of self-deportations, Noem also posted on Monday morning about how the CBP Home app is now being used to encourage self-deportations. The repurposed use for the app has since become a trending topic over X on Monday.
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