ABC Host Tries to Run Cover for MS-13, Gets Destroyed by DHS’s Tricia McLaughlin [WATCH]

The Trump administration is pushing back against media efforts to frame a deported El Salvadoran national as a U.S. resident, after multiple immigration rulings and a Supreme Court decision affirmed the individual’s removal from the country due to his gang affiliations.

During an appearance on ABC News Live Tuesday, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin confirmed to anchor Jay O’Brien that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien deported to El Salvador, was legally determined to be a member of the violent MS-13 gang.

“I think what really matters to Americans is that this MS-13 gang member who, unfortunately, Jay, you and a lot of your colleagues have called ‘a Maryland man,’ when, in reality, he is a MS-13 gang member,” McLaughlin said, responding to O’Brien’s questions about the administration’s evidence.

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O’Brien challenged the assertion and asked for proof. McLaughlin responded that “two separate immigration judges” had ruled Garcia was affiliated with MS-13.

“I can do this all day, Jay,” she added.

“He is a member of MS-13. I don’t think you’d want to be his neighbor. I sure wouldn’t, and I don’t think many Americans watching would want to be this individual’s neighbor.”

Garcia’s deportation has drawn national attention following an April 4 order by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of the District of Maryland, who sought to compel the federal government to return him to the United States.

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The U.S. Supreme Court overruled that decision, stating that the judge lacked the authority to require his return.

The high court added that the U.S. should “facilitate” his return only if he is released by El Salvador.

McLaughlin criticized the framing of Garcia as a resident of Maryland, clarifying that the individual is a foreign national and confirmed gang member involved in criminal activity.

“He has been involved in human trafficking. He’s been involved in labor trafficking, and he should not be in this country,” she said.

McLaughlin also tied Garcia’s case to the broader national security approach of President Donald Trump.

Since taking office on January 20, President Trump has signed multiple executive orders targeting transnational crime.

Among the actions: designating MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels, and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang as foreign terrorist organizations.

On March 15, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expedite the removal of criminal foreign nationals involved in organized crime.

“So whether he’s in an El Salvador jail or a U.S. detention facility, I am so very glad, as are millions of Americans, that he is off of U.S. streets,” McLaughlin said.

“Because, remember, Jay, who is MS-13? They maim. They rape. They kill Americans for sport, and the American people are done with it. They said so on November 5, 2024.”

The question of Garcia’s return was further addressed during an Oval Office meeting on Monday between President Trump and El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

Bukele dismissed any expectation that Garcia would be sent back to the United States.

“You and I both watched the Oval Office yesterday where President Bukele said he was not planning on returning this terrorist to U.S. soil,” McLaughlin told O’Brien, referencing a press exchange between Bukele and CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

“This guy was in our country illegally. He is an El Salvadorian citizen, and President Bukele gets to decide what to do with him.”

McLaughlin also took aim at media coverage of the situation, arguing that journalists were focusing on defending gang members instead of advocating for their victims.

“What the media really should be caring about, what really matters, is these victims of Tren de Aragua and MS-13,” she said.

“It’s horrible what’s happened to these people. And, you know, it’s kind of sad, the number of inquiries from the media I get every single day. Yet not one of them is about the American victims of these individuals. Instead, it’s just doing the bidding of these gang members.”

The case continues to underscore the Trump administration’s firm stance on immigration enforcement and criminal removals, particularly as the White House continues to promote its expanded deportation efforts in cooperation with foreign governments.

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