Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Patricia McLaughlin accused “mainstream media” outlets of aiding violent gangs like Tren de Aragua (TdA) and MS-13 during a Monday Fox News appearance.
A divided three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld an injunction issued March 15 by United States District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia ordering the Trump administration to turn two planes carrying members of TdA to El Salvador around. McLaughlin told Fox News host Harris Faulkner the coverage of ‘false sob stories’ stemming from the deportations by “mainstream” outlets was “ridiculous and dangerous.”
“We have very intense scrutiny and intelligence assessments for these members of Tren de Aragua that we send to El Salvador and to other prisons. The mainstream media is absolutely doing the bidding of these vicious gang members that they’re sharing false sob stories,” McLaughlin said after Faulkner highlighted a March 24 post by McLaughlin on X.
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“It is very ridiculous and dangerous for law enforcement that they are doing these things. It goes far beyond their social media posts or tattoos, which is the misnomer that many of the mainstream media is relying upon,” McLaughlin continued. “We have very great confidence in our intelligence.”
McLaughlin also accused media outlets of ignoring prominent victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
“I think it speaks to the culture of the media today is that they are willing to do the bidding of these gang members, these vicious, vicious gangs, but they’re not willing to share these stories of the victims of these gangs. I’ve yet to get a question about the individuals who were kidnapped or families of those who were murdered or raped,” McLaughlin told Faulkner.
“You should see what comes across my desk and Secretary Noem’s desk every day,” McLaughlin added. “Lists of these individuals who are arrested, child abusers, kidnappers, rapists. It’s stunning that for these past four years, these people have been allowed to walk our streets and have no place in American society.”
Authorities in Oklahoma arrested 23-year-old Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, for the August 2023 murder of 37-year-old Rachel Morin in Maryland June 14, 2024.
Authorities in Houston arrested two men June 20 and charged them with capital murder in the rape and murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray. In February 2024, Jose Antonio Ibarra, an immigrant from Venezuela who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, was arrested by University of Georgia police and charged with murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.
The Border Patrol encountered millions of illegal immigrants during the Biden administration, according to figures released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
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