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‘CLOSING TIME’: White House, Border Patrol troll with deportation meme video

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meme 'sums up our immigration policy pretty well'

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The official White House and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) X accounts trolled critics on Monday by posting a meme video showing deportations to the famed '90s song "Closing Time," a longtime staple at closing bars and weddings. 

"It's closing time. We are making America safe again," CBP said in its post. 

The video, which was posted by the White House as well as U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks and Customs and Border Protection, shows authorities processing shackled illegal immigrants to the tune of "Semisonic" lead singer Dan Wilson singing, "Closing time, you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here."  

The video then cuts to show agents loading illegals on a plane for deportation as Wilson sings, "I know who I want to take me home," with the words Border Patrol clearly visible. 

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Stills from the White House/CBP's video showing deportations alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Stills from the White House/CBP's video showing deportations alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. (Getty/White House)

Since retaking the Oval Office, President Donald Trump has made securing the border and cracking down on illegal immigration one of his top priorities. In an interview with CBS in late February, Banks said illegal border crossings had plummeted by 94%. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security said last week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested just under 33,000 illegal immigrants. 

Further, a senior Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News that a total of 261 illegal aliens were deported to El Salvador on Saturday – 137 were via the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, 101 were Venezuelans removed via Title 8, 21 were Salvadoran MS-13 gang members, and two were MS-13 ringleaders and "special cases" for El Salvador, according to the official.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained the video during Monday’s White House press briefing, saying it "sums up our immigration policy pretty well: You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here." 

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Tren de Aragua members in El Salvador prison

Prison guards transfer deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on Sunday. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP)

"The White House and our entire government clearly is leaning into the message of this president and we are unafraid to double down and to take responsibility and ownership of the serious decisions that are being made," said Leavitt. "The president was elected with an overwhelming mandate to launch the largest, mass deportation campaign in American history. And that's exactly what he is doing." 

She said that over 50 days into the administration, Trump continues to receive "overwhelming public support for the policies that he is enacting." 

"So, we are unafraid to message effectively what the president is doing on a daily basis to make our, communities safer," she explained. 

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

via March 17th 2025