During a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to criticism aimed at President Donald Trump over his immigration policy, highlighting what she described as a clear contradiction in today’s public debate. To make her point, she referenced a 2016 Washington Post headline that praised an official for deporting illegal immigrants, emphasizing that this recognition took place during the administration of former President Barack Obama.
Leavitt stressed that the same actions now used to attack Trump were previously supported and even rewarded by Democratic administrations. In that context, she recalled that Obama himself awarded a medal to Tom Homan for his work enforcing immigration laws, which, in her view, shows that upholding the law has not historically been a partisan position, but an institutional responsibility.
The Press Secretary explained that Homan currently has the full trust and backing of President Trump precisely because of his experience and track record, and that he will continue to lead strategic meetings with local and state authorities. The goal, she said, is to strengthen cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement to ensure effective and orderly enforcement of immigration laws, as is already the case in most states across the country.
Leavitt also questioned what she described as an opportunistic shift in political rhetoric, where policies that were once praised are now portrayed as extreme or unacceptable, depending on who occupies the White House. From her perspective, this narrative distorts the debate and avoids an honest discussion about the need to enforce the law.
Finally, she made it clear that the Trump administration is not pushing a new or radical policy, but rather returning to an approach that has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past. For Leavitt, the difference lies not in the actions themselves, but in the political will to embrace them and defend them openly before the public.
