A press conference of the White House took a surprising turn when Karoline Leavitt called a reporter who questioned the major deportations of the Trump government.
In a dramatic exchange, LeaVitt damaged the independent Andrew Feinberg after he cited a court document that suggested that tattoos, signs or even certain clothing brands could be used to classify someone as a member of TREN de Aragua (TDA).
The gang is a Venezuelan criminal syndicate that the administration has labeled a 'foreign terrorist organization'.
“You can be classified by simply having certain symbols in your tattoos and wearing certain streetwear brands,” Feinberg began. “That alone is enough to have someone like TDA classified and to be sent to El Salvador.”
That statement, detailed in the so -called Alien Enemy Validation Guide, who was submitted to the Federal Court during the weekend, pulled an immediate reprimand from Leavitt.
“That's not true, Andrew,” she shot back.
“According to this document it is,” Feinberg replied.
“No,” lasted Leavitt. 'According to the Ministry of Interior Security and the Agents – have you spoken with the agents who have put their lives at stake to hold these foreign terrorists who terrorize our communities?
Karoline Leavitt unleashed a minute -long tirade on a reporter who questioned the radical deportations of alleged gang members under the Alien Enemies Act
Leavitt shot a reporter who quoted a court document that tattoos, handboards or even certain clothing brands suggests could be used to classify someone as a member of Tren de Aragua
Salvadoran Prison Guards Escort claimed members of the Venezuelan gang of the Aragua and the MS-13 gang that was recently deported by the US government to be locked up in El Salvador
'TDA is a mean gang who has taken the lives of American women,' Leavitt continued, her voice rises.
'And our agents in the front line take these people out with the greatest seriousness. There is a litany of criteria that they use to ensure that these persons are eligible as foreign terrorists and to ensure that they are eligible for deportation, “she continued.
'And ashamed and ashamed of the regular media, because you try to cover these individuals.
“This is a vicious gang, Andrew. This is a mean gang who has taken the lives of American women. '
Feinberg continued to remain silent during the tense exchange. His question seemed to show some concerns in the legal community about what the administration is like of the gang.
Trump's massive deportation campaign is accelerated under war powers that have not been used since the Second World War.
TDA is a transnational criminal company that originated in Venezuela but now has spread over Latin -America and, according to American officials, has started with active in American cities.
The group is known for a brutal cocktail of extortion, drug trafficking and human smuggling.
“Shame and ashamed of the regular media, trying to cover for these individuals,” said Leavitt during her outdoor press briefing on Monday
US Military Staff Escort claimed that members of the Venezuelan gang of the Aragua are locked up in the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) prison in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador
There are concerns in the legal community about how the administration is the membership of the gang
In a Sunday evening deposit operation, seventeen alleged gang members, including individuals connected to both TDA and MS-13, flown to El Salvador on board an American military aircraft.
State Secretary Marco Rubio said that the group included convicted murderers and rapists, and emphasized the government's determination to remove 'any foreign national that is a threat to our communities'.
But the legal basis for the promotion has come under intensive research.
President Trump's 15 March call from the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law designed to make detention or removal of nationals from hostile countries possible, was the first time in modern history that it was applied to a non-state gang and was used for mass immigration enforcement.
The ACLU complained immediately and a federal court issued a temporary block on the policy.
A list of the newest deportees, confirmed by the White House, shows that 12 criminal convictions had a self -identified as a gang member and three were confronted with charges.
But civil rights lawyers claim that the criteria used remain dangerously vague.
Central to the legal controversy is a document filed by the court in which the section of the administration is explained to determine whether someone is affiliated with TDA.
Leavitt strongly defended the methodology about who claimed gang members were deported
A list of the newest deportees, confirmed by the White House, shows that 12 criminal convictions had, one himself identified as a gang member, and three were confronted with charges
Salvadoran Prison Guards Escort claimed members of the Venezuelan gang to the terrorism confinement center in Tecoluca, El Salvador
It includes high priority criteria, such as earlier convictions, communication with well-known gang members or self-adhesive relationship. But lower indicators such as specific tattoos, hand gestures or streetwear brands have activated the alarm.
Experts who are called up by the ACLU say that those markers are not reliable indicators for criminal activities, let alone of gang -affiliation.
Nevertheless, Leavitt defended the methodology strongly.
“There is a litany of criteria that they use to ensure that these people are eligible as foreign terrorists and to ensure that they are eligible for deportation,” Leavitt said.
“The president has made the American public incredibly clear that there would be a massive deportation campaign – not only from foreign terrorists, but also illegal criminal aliens who destroyed the American communities,” she added.
“They finally have a president who allows them to do their work – and God bless them for doing it.”
The use of the Alien Enemies Act by the administration was blocked by a federal court, but the legal team of Trump has already appealed the American Supreme Court to restore it.
In the meantime, deportations will continue under the disputed war law or under standard immigration authorities.
On Capitol Hill, Democrats have accused the administration of racial profiling and unconstitutional behavior, while the Republicans have closed the ranks around Trump's deportation Blitz, with the argument how dangerous foreign criminals should be removed quickly.
Tammy Bruce, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, refused to say under which authority the newest Venezuelans and Salvadorans were deported.
