Karoline Leavitt Insists White House ‘Did Not Make a Mistake’ By Deporting Abrego Garcia — Despite Court Filing

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to admit a Maryland migrant was deported to El Salvador last month due to an administrative error, despite both the Justice Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledging the mistake.

“We did not make a mistake,” Leavitt said as the issue was brought up by Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade Monday morning. “We have always maintained this was an individual who needed to be deported from our country.

She added: “The president swore to the American public he was going to deport illegal criminals, and especially those who have been involved in violent gangs like MS-13 that have terrorized American communities.”

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran-born migrant, was rounded up by agents, deported, and imprisoned in El Salvador’s CECOT megaprison last month. Trump administration officials eventually admitted in a court filing that Abrego Garcia was deported as a result of an “administrative error.” Abrego Garcia had previously been granted protective status in the U.S., meaning that while a judge could eventually order his deportation, the U.S. was barred from sending him back to El Salvador out of fear for his safety.

The DOJ lawyer who acknowledged the error was later fired. Stephen Miller, Trump’s hardline immigration advisor, told reporters in the Oval Office last week, “The only mistake that was made is a lawyer put an incorrect line in a legal filing that since has been relieved of duty.” ICE had also called Abrego Garcia’s deportation an “error.”

The case has been a constant thorn in the side of Donald Trump’s White House, most recently after Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) traveled to El Salvador to meet with him.

Leavitt has warned repeatedly that Abrego Garcia will not be returning to the U.S., despite efforts by Democratic lawmakers and court orders to do so, citing his alleged connection to the bloodthirsty MS-13 gang.

“To the Democrat Party who thinks who thinks they are going to bring this foreign terrorist back to the United States of America to live a peaceful and happy life, that is never going to happen,” Leavitt told Kilmeade Monday.

Read the full exchange here:

BRIAN KILMEADE: That was an official trip, I don’t know if more will follow, what do you think people should people know about the person that Sen. Van Hollen visited?

KAROLINE LEAVITT: They should know the truth about this man. He is an illegal alien. A foreign terrorist. A criminal MS-13 gang member who violated our country’s laws by coming here in the first place. And shame on Sen. Chris Van Hollen and entire Democrat party who wasted Easter Sunday going on every television show in the country to advocate for the return of an illegal criminal gang member.

There is a litany of evidence proving this individual’s ties to MS-13, that has been confirmed in two different courts. There have been multiple law enforcement officers who have affirmed his MS-13 affiliation and that is who the Democratic Party is advocating for. It is ridiculous.

The President, this White House, the entire administration will continue to focus on deporting these illegal alien gang members and criminals from our nation’s interior and enforcing our immigration laws. That’s what the president was reelected to do. I will add that the overwhelming majority of Americans support deportation of illegal criminals. 89% of people support deporting illegals from our homeland.

While Democrats continue to trip over themselves while ignoring American citizens whose lives have been impacted by crime of illegal criminals, like Patty Morin, who we were so honored to have at the White House to share her daughter’s story just last week. Senator van Hollen never called her or reached out yet spent hours fawning over this illegal who is tied to a vicious gang that has taken the lives of American citizens. It’s unbelievable.

KILMEADE : I was disappointed that no one broke out field interviews with the gang unit that interviewed him and took him into custody. They said he had tattoos, wearing the Chicago Bulls hat and an informant who they still trust who said he had a ranking in MS-13. They never talked about the trafficking case that for some reason no luggage going from Texas to Maryland. We don’t know what he was doing for a living to allow him to sustain living there. Sen. Kennedy did come out and say this guy looks like a bad guy, but the administration made a mistake sending him to El Salvador. Do you feel that way?

LEAVITT: We did not make a mistake. We have always maintained this was an individual who needed to be deported from our country. The president swore to the American public he was going to deport illegal criminals, and especially those who have been involved in violent gangs like MS-13 that have terrorized American communities. So to the Democrat Party who thinks who thinks they are going to bring this foreign terrorist

back to the United States of America to live a peaceful and happy life, that is never going to happen. Not only is this an MS-13 gang member, but he is also an illegal alien who broke our nation’s laws to come here and not only is it a slap in the face to the American citizens whose lives who have been put in danger or in many cases lost at the hands of these illegal alien criminal gang members, but it’s also a slap in the face to the millions of legal immigrants who came here the right way, waited their turn, and paid their dues. We have a legal immigration system for a reason and the president will continue to uphold that.

KILMEADE: It’s very hard for me to play devil’s advocate with this story because I feel passionately that he does not belong here, but I do try.

On Sunday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker that he sees the deportation of Abrego Garcia as a “screw-up” on the part of the administration, but also that he knows why they won’t admit it.

“The administration won’t admit it. But, this was a screw-up. Mr. Garcia was not supposed to be sent to El Salvador. He was sent to El Salvador,” he said. ” And I understand why the administration has bowed up and won’t admit it’s a mistake. Because if they do, they’ll have their throats torn out.”

Watch above, via Fox News.