The Trump administration has placed around 100 posters outside the White House, each of which shows the mugshot of a migrant accused of living in the country illegally, while highlighting their alleged crimes, which include rape, murder, child sexual abuse and fentanyl distribution. Under each photo is the phrase “illegal alien,” with the White House’s official logo stamped at the bottom.
Posters appear ahead of 100-day mark
President Donald Trump’s administration added the mugshot posters along the driveway of the White House, just before Trump’s 100th day in office. The mugshot posters are directly behind where the national press corps reporters line up for their White House live shots.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke about Trump’s border policies during a press briefing Monday, April 28.
“America’s borders are now secure because of President Trump. He has restored the rule of law, enforced our immigration laws and defended America’s sovereignty,” Leavitt said. “The president immediately declared a national emergency on the southern border, deployed the U.S. military and Border Patrol to repel the invasion and ended reckless catch and release policies.”
Critics condemn deportation practices
The mugshot posters come at a time when Trump’s adversaries have criticized his immigration policies.
Federal immigration authorities have detained several women and children, including the wife of an active-duty member of the Coast Guard, the mother of a 1-year-old girl and three U.S. citizen children ages 2, 4 and 7, as well as their mothers, who officials maintain lack proper documentation to live in the country.
The American Civil Liberties Union calls the detainments a violation of due process, writing, “The families, who had lived in the United States for years and had deep ties to their communities, were deported from the U.S. under deeply troubling circumstances that raise serious due process concerns.”
In March, the Trump administration deported what they claimed to be Venezuelan gang members to a mega prison in El Salvador. However, one man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran living in Maryland, had a 2019 court order protecting him from being deported.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., called Abrego Garcia’s deportation an “illegal abduction” with no due process.
