April 28 (UPI) — The Trump administration on Monday placed roughly 100 mugshots of arrested unauthorized immigrants along the White House driveway as its border czar warned undocumented migrants “cannot hide.”
Faces of men appeared with the words “illegal alien” outside the White House. No names were given but alleged crimes listed were “first-degree murder,” “murder,” “sexual abuse of a child,” “kidnapping and rape,” “rape of a child,” “sexual contact with child,” “child molestation,” and “distribution of fentanyl.”
The posters show “some of the worst illegal immigrants and criminals the Trump administration has arrested since taking office,” an official told Axios.
They were placed along the area dubbed “Pebble Beach,” where TV news crews conduct live shots.
The White House has distributed 100 violent criminals’ names arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent months.
Also Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump would sign two immigration executive orders. One will “unleash America’s law enforcement” and another to publish “a list of state and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
These actions come as Trump nears his 100th day in office on Wednesday.
“Get your affairs in order. If you’re in the country illegally, work with ICE, go to CBP One Home app, and leave on your own,” Tom Homan, the border czar said in the White House press briefing room Monday morning.
In February, the Trump administration launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign warning undocumented migrants that they will be deported if they are in the United States. Both ads, titled “Warning,” consist of dramatic music with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem speaking directly to non-U.S. citizens.
“Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,” Homan told reporters. “Every sick person we take off the streets, especially child rapists, makes this country safer.”
Arrests at border, deportations
Illegal crossings at the southern border are down and deportations are up.
Illegal crossings dropped 95% in March to less than 7,200 migrant encounters from more than 137,000 ones the same month a year ago during the Biden administration, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
And Homan said 139,000 migrants have been deported since Trump became president.
But thousands with non-criminal immigration violations have been sent from the Untied States. And 46% of the of 48,000 ICE detainees in mid-April had no criminal record.
“Am I happy with the numbers?” Human said. “The numbers are good, especially if you look at the ICE numbers. The ICE arrests and removals are far beyond Biden, But I read the media, ‘Oh, deportations are behind the Biden administration.’ Well, why? Because they counted border removals.”
Homan said crossings from Mexico are down because more segments to the border wall have been added and there is a more aggressive policy of forcing those seeking asylum to wait in Mexico.
“The success is unprecedented,” Homan said. “Border numbers are at a historic low.”
The White House is attempting to boost deportations but it needs additional funding from Congress. Also, immigration courts are backlogged.
Homan and Leavitt at the briefing were asked about two issues in the past few days: the arrest of a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, and U.S. citizen children removed alongside their mother earlier this month.
The press secretary said federal law enforcement will arrest anyone who prevents officers “from doing their jobs” in federal law enforcement.
The border czar defended the children’s removal as a “parental decision.” Lawyers for the mother say she wasn’t allowed to leave them in the United States.
“We’re keeping families together,” Homan said. “So when a parent says, ‘I want my 2-year-old baby to go with me,’ we made that happen. They weren’t deported. We don’t deport U.S. citizens. The parents made that decision, not the United States government.”
Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of crime gangs Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorists.
The Supreme Court has temporarily paused those removals, including to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The justices say they need due process in courts.
“The Trump administration is working 24/7 to successfully arrest and deport these foreign criminals and terrorists from our country,” Leavitt said. “We are in the beginning stages of carrying out the largest deportation campaign in American history.”
‘Operation Tidal Wave’ in Florida
In Florida, ICE and law enforcement from the state arrested 780 undocumented migrants in the United States over four days starting last Monday.
“Operation Tidal Wave” allows for state and local law enforcement agencies to be deputized. Also ICE is allowed to be inside jails and on task forces, according to the agency.
ICE Miami described on Saturday the arrests in a post on X along with photos from the operation.
In a first-of-its-kind partnership between state and federal partners, ICE Miami and Florida law enforcement arrested nearly 800 illegal aliens this week during the first four days of #OperationTidalWave – a massive, multi-agency, immigration enforcement crackdown.
Learn how… pic.twitter.com/LbH3j4OJU9— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) April 26, 2025
“I think the main reason why this operation is significant is because it’s the first of its kind,” Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director, told ABC News. “It’s one that not only we’ve been doing what we have, but we have surged all our federal partners together along with Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement [and] Removal Operations.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the partnership.
“Florida is leading the nation in active cooperation with the Trump administration for immigration enforcement and deportation operations!” DeSantis wrote in a post on X on Saturday.
Sanctuary cities
Homan said he plans to go Tuesday to Rochester, N.Y., which the Trump administration is suing for refusing to assist the federal government as a sanctuary city.
The Trump administration said the city is violating the U.S. Constitution by impeding immigration enforcement. Mayor Malik Evans and Police Chief David Smith said Rochester police officers are also accused of violating city policy prohibiting their involvement in immigration activities.
Officers assisted federal agents during a traffic stop on March 24 and helped handcuff the vehicle’s occupants.
Rochester established itself as a sanctuary city in 1986.
Designated sanctuary areas limit or refuse to cooperate with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law. They protect immigrants from deportation and allow them to engage with law enforcement without fear of reprisal.
There are 13 sanctuary states, including New York and Illinois. In addition, there are sanctuary cities outside them, including Atlanta; Louisville, Ky.; Baltimore; and New Orleans, as well as several designated counties.
