Karoline Leavitt tore into Democrat lawmakers and the media for their coverage of a Salvadorian migrant who was deported back to El Salvador.
‘Based on the sensationalism of many of the people in this room, you would think we deported a candidate for Father of the Year,’ Leavitt, 27, told reporters.
The White House Press Secretary was critiquing the press for their coverage of a migrant the administration accidentally deported named Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The 29-year-old migrant has an American son and wife but he was sent back to El Salvador by mistake.
He was alleged to have ties to MS-13, but the Trump administration is now saying they cannot bring him back, and Abrego Garcia is not subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
He has commonly been referred to as a ‘Maryland man’ in the coverage about his removal to El Salvador’s most notorious prison CECOT.
‘It’s atrocious that you have Democrats in Congress on Capitol Hill who swear an oath to protect their constituents and to serve them in Washington DC, spending more time defending illegal immigrant gang members than their own constituents and law abiding American citizens like Rachel Morin,’ the press secretary said.
Morin, a Maryland mother-of-five, was murdered by an illegal migrant in 2023. Her mother, Patty Morin, spoke during Trump’s campaign about the tragic loss of her daughter.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt ripped the press for their glowing coverage of a Salvadorian migrant that the Trump administration accidentally deported despite him having an American wife and kid
Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty of rape and murder on Monday in a Maryland court
Leavitt noted how many reports call the migrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a ‘Maryland man’ while the same outlets hardly covered the murder of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five, who was murdered by an illegal migrant in 2023
‘The Democrat and media outrage over the deportation of Abrego Garcia, an MS-13, El Salvadorian, illegal alien, criminal who is hiding in Maryland, has been nothing short of despicable,’ Leavitt blasted.
‘That’s because ultimately, many in this country care more about this quote, unquote, Maryland father, illegal alien, MS-13 gang member, than a Maryland mother and an American citizen who was brutally murdered at the hands of a different illegal alien.’
On Monday, a Maryland court found Morin’s killer, Salvadorian Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, guilty of rape and murder.
It was found that Martinez-Hernandez planned the murder ahead of time before strangling Morin and leaving her body in a ditch.
DNA testing was able to match the migrant to the scene.
‘President Trump and our administration will not rest until every single highly illegal alien is removed from our country,’ the press secretary continued.
Abrego Garcia, on the other hand, fled to come to the U.S. in 2011 and was granted status to stay in 2019.
However, he was deported as a result of an ‘administrative error’ on March 15.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador
Trump invites Patty Morin, mother of Rachel Morin, to speak during a campaign event
Patty Morin arrives at the Harford County Circuit Courthouse with attorney Randolph Rice for the opening statements in the trial of Victor Martinez-Hernandez
He has been at the high security CECOT prison in El Salvador ever since while his wife and attorney have been calling for his release.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele visited the White House on Monday and during an Oval Office meeting with Trump announced that he would not return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
His commitment bolsters the Trump administration claim that El Salvador has sole jurisdiction over Abrego Garcia.
