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The Trump White House has reiterated that anyone living in the US illegally is eligible for deportation as its campaign continues to focus on removing the “worst of all” violent illegal immigrants.
“The President’s entire team, including Czar Tom Homan and Secretary Noem, are on the same page when it comes to accomplishing his agenda — which has always focused on putting the worst illegal gangs first — and successful deportations and a historically secure border prove that,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
“As always, anyone in the country illegally is eligible for deportation,” he added. “President Trump is keeping his promise to do the biggest deportation job in history.”
The administration, particularly the offices within the Department of Homeland Security, are in the midst of ongoing arrest and deportation efforts as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign on the immigration crisis that rocked America under the Biden administration.
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“All of the President’s team, including Border Czar Tom Homan and Secretary Noem, are in agreement when it comes to accomplishing his agenda,” said a White House spokesperson. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
Officials are increasingly buying into the message that violent immigrants are the top priority for capture, while broad mass deportation efforts targeting all illegal immigrants have fizzled from the start.
Border czar Tom Homan, for example, told NBC News in June in an interview released only Monday that failure to prioritize arresting and deporting “illegal aliens” over other illegal immigrants risks losing “the faith of the American people.”
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White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed Tuesday that deporting all illegal immigrants remains the administration’s job, with violent criminals being deported first. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I think the majority of Americans think that illegal criminals have to go,” Homan said in an interview with NBC News in June. “And if we stick to that priority, I think we’re keeping the faith of the American people.”
“And I think if we do that, the American people will be very supportive of what President Trump is doing. We have to do it and we have to do it in a humane way.”
Homan has said in other public hearings that “prioritizing criminals from other countries doesn’t mean we forget about the other person,” and that “If you’re in this country illegally, you’re off the table.”
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed Tuesday that deporting all illegal immigrants remains the administration’s job, with violent criminals being deported first.
Detained immigrants board a transport van after disembarking from a plane at Valley International Airport, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Harlingen, Texas. (Michael Gonzalez/The Associated Press)
“The Trump administration will continue to focus on deporting all illegal aliens in our country, focusing on the worst criminals,” he said on Tuesday.
The Trump administration and campaign have historically focused on deporting illegal immigrants as the first order of business, but such comments were often combined with messages that all illegal immigrants would face deportation under Trump.
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For example, Trump, in December 2024, said that “we will bring the whole family back to the country” if they are illegal in a debate that included the former president-elect against countries that send “killers” and “people from mental institutions” to the US.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents continue to conduct immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, Jan. 28, 2026. (Madison Thorn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Number one, we’re doing criminals and we’re going to do them fast,” Trump said in an interview in December 2024, covering immigration administration policies. “We get the worst gang probably with MS-13 and the gangs in Venezuela are the worst in the world. They are brutal, violent people.”
The administration has faced growing scrutiny from Democrats and other critics following the launch of an immigration crackdown and work in cities from Washington, DC, to Los Angeles to Minneapolis by 2025.
Protests hit Minneapolis in early 2026 as protesters took to the streets of the Twin Cities to speak out against law enforcement, especially following the shooting of two Americans by immigration officials in January.
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Management has repeatedly said they are not backing down from Minneapolis.
Officials have increased cooperation with local law enforcement — especially jails — to apprehend illegal immigrants already in custody, allowing detention in facilities rather than neighborhoods and requiring fewer officers on the ground.
