- 3 months ago
Sec. Kristi Noem held a press briefing on Thursday about protests in Los Angeles.
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00:00Our Federal Protective Services and also our Border Patrol agents have come and been partners
00:05with us in an incredible way.
00:07They bring a skill set that has helped us have a whole of government approach under
00:11the Department of Homeland Security that has never happened before.
00:15The assets that they have and the willingness to do their jobs that this President has allowed
00:19them to do has been absolutely incredible.
00:22But what you see standing behind me too is also other Federal partners.
00:26Federal partners that have come to the table that are here to bring safety and security
00:30to the City of Los Angeles.
00:31I want to specifically thank the Army.
00:34I want to thank the Marines, the National Guard, our soldiers, our military men and women who
00:38have shown up here to help make sure that we have security.
00:41Not only do they protect our country around the world, but they're doing it every single
00:45day here in the United States of America too and doing it as service, public service to
00:52the people in this country because they took an oath to uphold the law.
00:56We also have a U.S. Attorney here who has been aggressive, has been making sure that we
01:01don't pick winners and losers in this country, that the rule of law will be followed and that
01:05people who break the law and perpetuate violence will be brought to justice.
01:09They will be prosecuted and there will be consequences for that kind of activity.
01:13The Department of Justice is here and has a presence in our Incident Command Center as well
01:17as the DEA, the FBI and their investigative teams have been fantastic with their leadership.
01:23And we also have the IRS here that's helping us track how these violent protesters are funded,
01:28what NGOs out there, what unions, what other individuals may be funding.
01:34These violent perpetuators that are in these protests that take people who may be wanting
01:38to come and be peaceful but instead turn these into very violent activities that go after
01:43law enforcement that's just simply not acceptable.
01:46And I also want to thank our U.S. Marshals.
01:48They've been so great in helping us to secure facilities but also operations and also with
01:53transportation that as soon as someone is arrested and brought into incarceration that they are
01:58transported out and able to face prosecution and the consequences for their crimes.
02:04I want people to know that while these officers and these agencies and our military are here
02:08doing this work and these operations that the people across this country are so grateful.
02:15They are so grateful for the work that is being done here in Los Angeles.
02:18They are setting an example for what is happening across the country in other cities and putting
02:24together a model and a blueprint for how we can continue to work to make every single community
02:29great again and safe again for our kids and for our grandkids far into the future.
02:34I've been in many different states with all the different components that I represent over
02:38the last four or five days and everywhere I go people stop me and say tell everybody who's
02:45working in Los Angeles that is working to bring safety to those city streets and to those
02:50families and protect those small business tell them thank you.
02:53Tell them God bless you that I hope that they are safe and they have been suffering.
02:58The people that live here under the policies of Governor Newsom and under the policies of Mayor Bass
03:04and they recognize that it's a huge disservice to the people who have to try to raise their families
03:08here and that these agents and that these law enforcement officers are working to change that
03:13and give them an opportunity to be successful and to live the American dream.
03:17Listen, many officers have been assaulted over the last several days.
03:22We did see before that assaults against law enforcement and ICE officers go up over 400%.
03:28In this situation we've seen that increase even more.
03:31It's not acceptable.
03:32If you assault a law enforcement officer we are going to come after you and we are going
03:35to arrest you, prosecute you and put you away.
03:38That is not going to work.
03:39And under this administration with President Trump's leadership, one person is not better
03:43than another.
03:45Just because you think you're here as a citizen or because you're a member of a certain group
03:50or you're not a citizen, it doesn't mean that you're going to be protected and not face
03:53consequences from the laws that this country stands for.
03:56We have a constitution.
03:58We follow that constitution and the laws that have been passed by our Congress and we're
04:03going to make sure they are equally applied to every single person as it applies under
04:08the constitution here in Los Angeles but also across the country.
04:12As our law enforcement officers have been assaulted, they've been pelted with rocks and bricks.
04:16Their cars have been set on fire.
04:18Molotov cocktails have been used.
04:20We have seen people throw bottles and hammers at them.
04:23We've also seen that they have been attacked and verbally spit on or punched or assaulted
04:29and it's just not acceptable.
04:31The Department of Homeland Security and the officers and the agencies and the departments
04:35and the military people that are working on this operation will continue to sustain and
04:40increase our operations in this city.
04:42We are not going away.
04:44We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership
04:52that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have
04:57tried to insert into this city.
04:58So I want to say thank you to every single person that has been able to do this.
05:04Also, I want to talk specifically to the rioters and to the politicians in Los Angeles.
05:11I also want to talk specifically how many of our ICE agents have been doxxed for doing their duty,
05:24how they have been targeted and how their families have been put in jeopardy and that we're not going
05:29to allow that anymore as well, that those individuals who are purposely endangering our ICE agents and our law enforcement officers
05:37and their families will be prosecuted for what they are doing as far as perpetuating violence on them.
05:43I want to know that the American people are grateful for our law enforcement officers.
05:48We will always respect them and that President Trump is thankful for the leadership that has been shown by all of these agencies.
05:54In fact, President Trump did call in and I did visit with him today and he also visited with all of these agencies here this morning
06:01and thanked them for what they are doing to make sure that they are protecting the United States of America.
06:07The images that we've seen out of Los Angeles the last several days has simply been un-American by the protesters
06:13and the violence that we've seen perpetuated.
06:15Mass thugs are assaulting police officers.
06:18They're setting vehicles on fire.
06:19They're waving foreign flags on American soil while burning American flags and they've damaged public property
06:25and destroyed private businesses.
06:27We need to make sure that we are continuing to protect the citizens that live here and want this community to be safe.
06:34Let me give you just a few examples of those who have been rioting that many politicians like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass are defending.
06:41There was a Vietnamese illegal alien who committed a mass shooting at a graduation party in 1994 that we've been able to take off the streets.
06:49A Filipino illegal alien that was convicted of an assault with intent to commit rape that we've been able to bring up
06:55to custody and incarceration.
06:57You see behind you some more profiles of individuals that have brought into custody through the operations we have here.
07:03A Mexican illegal alien convicted of willfully cruelty to a child and on and on and on.
07:09Those individuals and those criminals are now off the streets of Los Angeles because of the activities
07:14that have been conducted here in the last several days and will continue to operate for days to come.
07:20When these riots first began on Friday night, a federal law enforcement building was surrounded by over 1,000 violent rioters
07:27and it took Los Angeles Police Department two hours to respond.
07:31So we are going to continue to operate with our federal partners and continue to keep asking the Governor and the Mayor for their support
07:39and their backup in these operations to make sure that all of our law enforcement officers are protected while they do their work.
07:45We're going to protect American cities from lawlessness and we'll do what it takes to put the American citizens first
07:51and make sure they have the opportunity to sleep safely in their beds at night.
07:55I just want to say God bless all of our men and women of the military that serve, all of those who serve in our law enforcement agencies
08:02and in public service that make great sacrifices away from their homes and from their families,
08:07but they do it because they believe in America and they believe in freedom and they believe in law and order
08:13and that is what we are doing right here today and will continue to do for days to come until Los Angeles once again is at peace.
08:19So with that, we'll turn it over to our next speaker, which I believe will be Todd Lyons from ICE.
08:28Thank you, Madam Secretary.
08:29I'm Todd Lyons.
08:30I'm the acting ICE director.
08:32Also, I'm the National Incident Commander for the situation.
08:35But I would just like to say thank you to Secretary Noem.
08:37She said it best.
08:38There's really not much more I can say.
08:40It's without her leadership that we wouldn't be out here conducting this mission.
08:44President Trump fully has our back on this one and we're doing the will of the American people.
08:48I want to thank the brave men and women of ICE, HSI, ERO, our attorneys with the Office of Public Legal Counsel,
08:56because without them, this would not be possible.
08:58They put their lives on the line every day.
09:01You also see my fellow agency heads here with me and many that are not up here on stage.
09:05The men and women of law enforcement have been putting themselves in harm's way every night since we've been here in Los Angeles.
09:11What we've done here is taken a whole government approach for this immigration mission.
09:16You know, under the last administration, there were millions upon millions of people that we don't know who came into this country.
09:21They were let in that now have turned violent criminals.
09:25Also, we have known suspected terrorists and gang members.
09:28Since January 20th, we've been making arrests in Los Angeles and all around the country.
09:32But specifically, we've focused on gang members, human traffickers, violent drug dealers and rapists.
09:38You know, the secretary brought it up.
09:40You know, the rhetoric of a lot of elected officials and people would really cause this.
09:45We've heard so much.
09:46If ICE had a criminal warrant, if ICE had a judicial warrant, cities would cooperate with us.
09:52On this past Friday, you saw that.
09:54You saw the men and women of ICE and these other DOJ partners executing a criminal warrant on a criminal immigration enforcement case.
10:01Yet the city turned against us and we had violent protesters.
10:04And that just won't happen because the men and women of ICE won't be deterred by this.
10:08We're going to be out there every day conducting our law enforcement mission.
10:11No protesters are going to block our way because the brave men and women of ICE and these DOJ partners you see up here,
10:17along with our partners with the Los Angeles Police Department, are going to ensure that we handle these protesters,
10:23but we are out there safely conducting these operations and we will get the worst off the street.
10:28And I'd also like to thank the Department of Defense and National Guard who has come here to assist us on that.
10:33You know, we will prosecute all these cases.
10:37Just, you know, the secretary highlighted so many, you see them up here.
10:41But we have a wanted man from Mexico who fled and hid in Los Angeles for killing a woman.
10:46You have an MS-13 gang member who killed two individuals during a boxed catalytic converter theft ring case.
10:55These aren't the individuals you want in Los Angeles.
10:57These aren't the individuals you want in the United States.
11:00ICE is going to keep doing their job and we're going to do it to the best of our ability with our DOJ partners.
11:05But with the secretary's leadership and the full support of the U.S. attorney to prosecute these criminals,
11:11we will continue enforcing the immigration mission that President Trump and the American people expect us to do.
11:17So with that, I'm going to turn it on to the FBI.
11:19Thank you, sir.
11:24Good morning. My name is Akil Davis. I'm the assistant director in charge of FBI Los Angeles.
11:29As you know, the FBI has been assisting the Department of Homeland Security with immigration enforcement since February.
11:34We're just one of many field offices doing this nationwide as directed by the attorney general.
11:40And we're accustomed to providing investigative and technical assistance to law enforcement at all levels on a regular basis.
11:48We have agents embedded with our operational teams with DHS.
11:53Our help vary depending on what DHS needs and they let us know moment by moment.
11:58We have significant tactical resources across the enterprise here throughout our seven county AOR to assist and support these efforts.
12:07That said, we find ourselves defending operations from violent offenders.
12:11The FBI safeguards constitutionally protected rights.
12:14We investigate civil rights violations on a daily basis, but some activity keeps taking place among righteous protesters is not civil.
12:22It's violent.
12:23We're going to investigate allegations of violence, whether it's assault on law enforcement officers or civilians, looting, arson, doxing, or damage to public property.
12:33So please, I'm asking the community, do not put your life in jeopardy by hurting someone or destroying property.
12:39You will be held accountable by the FBI and it's not worth it.
12:43I'd like to highlight two cases for you to show what the FBI's line of effort is in this overall DHS-led operation.
12:53Elpedio Reyna is a fugitive.
12:55He is wanted for the alleged assault of a federal officer in the city of Paramount in California on June 9th.
13:01I'm sorry, June 7th, 2025.
13:04Reyna allegedly threw rocks at law enforcement vehicles on Alondra Boulevard in Paramount and injured a federal officer.
13:11Reyna is 40 years old, weighs around 165 pounds, and is 5'7".
13:17Reyna has a tattoo on his left arm with the word Carmen on it.
13:21We have photos of him on display.
13:23Reyna will be caught, and when he is, he will face a statutory maximum penalty of eight years in prison.
13:30This is such a priority for the United States government that there is a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest.
13:41Let me repeat that, $50,000 for information leading to his arrest.
13:47The second case I'd like to highlight is on a subject named Alejandro Reyna.
13:52Alejandro was providing masks and face shields to violent rioters throughout the week and was arrested by our SWAT teams this morning.
14:01With the success and appreciation and assistance from the United States Attorney's Office, that case is ongoing, but Ariana is in custody as we speak.
14:10If you have information or evidence of violent acts, please either call 1-800-CALL-FBI, visit tips.fbi.gov, or send images or video to our digital tip line at fbi.gov backslash LA Office Assault.
14:29Thank you, and I will now turn it over to Chief Bovino, United States Border Patrol.
14:35Thank you, Chief.
14:36Thank you, Chief.
14:37Thank you, sir.
14:38Good morning.
14:39I'm Greg Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro Border Patrol sector and Lead Federal Coordinator for Customs and Border Protection Entities here in Los Angeles.
14:53Entities include U.S. Border Patrol, Office of Field Operations, and CBP Air and Marine.
15:00We have several hundred agents and officers here in Los Angeles right now as we speak.
15:06Our primary mission here in Los Angeles revolves around Title VIII United States Code.
15:12Let me say that again.
15:13Title VIII United States Code.
15:15Those are our immigration statutes.
15:17If you look behind us at these pictures on the wall, immigration is not a victimless crime.
15:23A lot of bad people, a lot of bad things are in our country now, including Los Angeles.
15:30For Customs and Border Protection, that's why we're here right now is to remove those bad people and bad things, whether illegal aliens, drugs, or otherwise.
15:41We're here.
15:42We're not going away.
15:43Border Patrol, Office of Field Operations, and Air and Marine, you'll see us in Los Angeles.
15:48You'll continue to see us in Los Angeles.
15:51Not going anywhere soon.
15:54As for the violence and the demonstrators, violence will not deter us, the CBP mission here in Los Angeles.
16:03I believe we saw that last Sunday night out at Paramount.
16:06We continued to conduct our patrols as we saw necessary in the middle of that riot.
16:13And we'll continue to do that from here on out.
16:16Our allied law enforcement agencies, many of whom you've already heard from, whether it's HSI, ERO, FBI, ATF, and all others, join with us as we conduct that Title VIII mission.
16:30It's very historic, first time I've ever seen it in my almost 30-year career.
16:34It's actually breathtaking.
16:37Many millions of illegal aliens have passed across that border over the past several years.
16:42It's our job to get them out.
16:44And that's what we are going to do, and that's what we're doing right now.
16:53Good morning.
16:56My name is Kenny Cooper, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, LA Field Division.
17:02The Department of Justice will not be deterred from enforcing this nation's laws.
17:07ATF is on the ground doing what we do best, fighting violent crime and protecting our communities, regardless of the environment around us.
17:17Our agents are trained to operate in high-threat, high-tension situations.
17:23When federal authorities move to execute court-authorized warrants, we support that mission with professionalism, precision, and resolve.
17:34ATF stands shoulder-to-shoulder with our federal partners in this whole-of-government approach.
17:49ATF stands also shoulder-to-shoulder to carry out our immigration enforcement mission.
17:56If a criminal threat intersects with that mission, we bring our full capacities to the table.
18:03Let's be clear.
18:04Obstructing a lawful federal operation, especially through violence or threats, is not protective activity.
18:12It's a crime.
18:14And those who cross that line will be held to account.
18:18We don't get to pick and choose when to enforce the law.
18:22Our job is to uphold it, always.
18:25ATF will continue to pursue violent offenders, support our partners, and keep doing the hard work this public demands.
18:40Hello, everyone. I'm Bill Asseli, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
18:45On behalf of my office and the Department of Justice, I'm here to show our support and our collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security
18:54in their mission to protect the American people and to do immigration enforcement operations, specifically at targeted known criminals,
19:01which is the primary focus of most of our missions to date.
19:05I want to also thank the National Guard and the military.
19:09We had judicial warrants to do what we did on both Friday and Saturday.
19:14And the amount of resistance and organized agitators that showed up to try to impede us was overwhelming.
19:21And we're really grateful to the president for deploying the Guard, which allowed us to continue our mission undeterred,
19:27to enforce the law and to keep our people and our buildings safe.
19:32And that's really important.
19:33And my office has been aggressive in bringing charges.
19:36We charged several people over the weekend who dared to assault our agents.
19:40They threw rocks.
19:41They threw stones.
19:43They were breaking up concrete.
19:45It was out of control and it was violent.
19:48And some people in the state of California have been conditioned to think that there's no consequences for criminal activity.
19:54And, you know, that might be true for the state of California, but it's not true with the federal government.
20:00And we will bring charges and you will go to federal prison.
20:03This is the federal government.
20:05This is not the state government.
20:07As the president said, if you spit, we hit and we'll hit you with a felony.
20:11And we're committed to that.
20:13We're continuing to conduct.
20:15We're looking at hundreds of suspects.
20:17We're collecting media, social media videos.
20:20We'll be combing over that stuff for weeks and months with the FBI.
20:23And just because you think you got away with something over the weekend, think again.
20:28In a few months from now, you could get a knock at your door.
20:30So anyone who's thinking about showing up to these protests to commit violence, I really caution you to think again.
20:37It's not worth it.
20:38We charged two individuals yesterday with throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers.
20:43That is extremely dangerous and could lead to death.
20:45They're now looking at explosive charges charged by the federal government and more charges to come.
20:51So I just want to reiterate that we will be aggressive.
20:54We will be filing and we will be swift in our deliverance of justice.
20:59And I want to thank our partners at the FBI and the ATF and DHS and all our agencies for their hard work.
21:05It has not been easy.
21:07They've been working around the clock, but they're undeterred.
21:10And I can tell you, speaking to them, they are more committed than ever to delivering on the promise of the president to make America safe again.
21:17And we need that in California probably more than anywhere else.
21:20So with that, I thank you very much.
21:22Thank you, Bill.
21:23I appreciate that and everyone for their comments.
21:25And with that, we're going to open it up to questions, but we're going to keep it specifically to questions that pertain to this topic and some of the operations that are ongoing here in Los Angeles and how we will sustain and build on those operations in the future.
21:40So do you want to go first?
21:41Not really.
21:42Yes.
21:43Yes.
21:44A question for you about future planning.
21:46We know that there's more protest planned for this weekend.
21:49Yes.
21:50Is DHS actively planning on requesting more assistance from DOD, more troops given those protests that are coming?
21:56Is this the administration's new playbook?
21:58You know, what I would say is that I'm not going to telegraph exact statistics and numbers and what we are doing as far as participation with the military.
22:05But we do have several thousand engaged here in Los Angeles right now.
22:10We are assessing this weekend's threat levels not just here but in cities across the country and pre-deploying assets.
22:16So we're using every tool that we have in our toolbox and pre-staging people, task forces, swift response teams, people with specific gifts and talents that they can contribute to areas that we think they may be needed this weekend so that we can prevent any kind of violence from being perpetuated.
22:34But it's on the table, the idea of bringing more troops?
22:37You know, I would say the President has the right to utilize every authority that he has under the Constitution to utilize Title X and to bring in military assets and National Guard units as needed.
22:47And he'll continue to assess that and use his prerogative to decide when it's necessary.
22:52Madam Secretary, you had previously asked the Defense Secretary to direct troops to arrest people.
22:59Is that something you'd still like to see?
23:01You know, I think what I had talked was a conversation with the Department of Defense to ask them to use the authorities that they have in conjunction with the President to make sure that there's consequences for people who perpetuate violence.
23:13So that is what the assessment is and they're being utilized to the fullest extent to which the President wishes to at this point in time.
23:20And I'm so thankful we have a U.S. Attorney and a Department of Justice that is going out there prosecuting these crimes as well.
23:26That's something that was very different under the Biden administration that is a game changer now.
23:31We have a President now that believes in the rule of law and that is going to make sure that when people break the law, no matter who you are, that you will be prosecuted and you will be brought to justice.
23:40Yes, sir.
23:41Madam Secretary.
23:42Yes.
23:43Two questions for you.
23:44The first one is, do you have an estimate number of people that have been detained and deported?
23:50And the second question I have to ask is, would you please address Senator Patia's interruption with your press conference?
23:58No, I'm not.
23:59It's unnecessary even pressing charges for whoever just witnessed here.
24:02Oh, you know what?
24:03I don't even know the Senator.
24:04He did not request a meeting with me or to speak with me.
24:07So when I leave here, I'll have a conversation with him and visit and find out really what his concerns were.
24:12I think everybody in America would agree that that wasn't appropriate.
24:16That if you wanted to have a civil discussion, especially as a leader, a public official, that you would reach out and try to have a conversation.
24:23For instance, I have left voicemails for Governor Newsom wanting to have a conversation.
24:27Has he returned them?
24:28No, he hasn't.
24:29I know that the White House has reached out and had conversations with Mayor Bass as well.
24:33And so that's what you do to try to start these conversations and ask for partnerships.
24:38Unfortunately, we haven't met that in this area.
24:40I'll visit with the Senator and find out really what his concerns are and what we can do.
24:44And as far as the estimated number of people that have been detained?
24:47You know, what I would say is that we have over 1,500 people that we have been interdicting with arresting for different situations.
24:56And we will continue to build on that.
24:58That's been just over the last few days.
25:00I know that we have more assets now today than we did yesterday.
25:03We have more yesterday than we did the day before.
25:05So we are only building momentum.
25:07This is only going to continue and be increased until we have peace on the streets of Los Angeles.
25:13The President has told me, Christy, use everything that we have to make sure that the citizens of Los Angeles know that we care about them.
25:20That they have lived with crime for far too long.
25:23And that we want them to be able to walk their children to school in the morning and feel safe.
25:28We want small businesses downtown to not have to worry about getting burned to the ground
25:32because some organized crime nonprofit funder is deciding that now is the time to send a political message or an agenda.
25:42So we're going to stay here and build our operations until we make sure that we liberate the city of Los Angeles.
25:48Exactly.
25:49Yes, back there.
25:50I'm going to do two more if that's okay.
25:51Go ahead.
25:52Can you talk a little bit about the specific number in terms of immigration-related arrests, like both daily and, you know, specifically?
26:00Well, we literally have tens of thousands of targets.
26:02So I think that's what's more important.
26:04People should know that there are millions of people that are in this city illegally and that we have, I would say, thousands and thousands, tens of thousands of targets that we will be going after.
26:14And remember, this president has repeatedly said that he's going after criminals and the worst of the worst.
26:20And we're going after people that are in work sites that are trafficking drugs, that are trafficking human beings.
26:26We're DNA testing children because many times when you see people claiming that they're family members or the children they have with them that are theirs, many times when we DNA testing, they're not.
26:35They're really peddling our children.
26:37And they have human slavery going on, child trafficking, pedophilia.
26:42So we are going after those individuals that we have intelligence on and we will continue to only build on that.
26:48And yes, I'm sorry to get you right away.
26:50No, there is some rhetoric out there that some of the people who have been detained, arrested, in detention are not criminals or do not have a criminal history.
27:03Can you address that?
27:04There's a lot of rhetoric out there that claims that.
27:07There's a lot of rhetoric and there's a lot of false information and a lot of fake news.
27:10So I'd appreciate it if you guys would start covering the facts.
27:12We'll get you all that information that we possibly can.
27:14Can you address that?
27:15Now, there may be people that because of the targets that we were out there arresting that were with those individuals,
27:21they were collaterals that were spending time with them, and all those people will be vetted.
27:25And remembering, still in the United States, if you come into this country illegally, you have committed a crime.
27:30And so when you do that, we have to go through and follow the law and make sure that we're adjudicating that and dealing with that appropriately.
27:37So the president's targets and priorities are the criminals that have perpetuated violence.
27:42But also, once again, I'm going to remind everybody, you have the opportunity to self-deport.
27:46We will buy you a plane ticket.
27:48We will give you $1,000 when you land in your home country or if you go home to Mexico.
27:53And then we will get you scheduled so that you can come back to this country legally.
27:57You will have the opportunity to come back to the United States of America.
28:00If you don't do that and you wait until we come and arrest you and have to remove you,
28:04you will never get the chance to come and live in the United States of America again.
28:08The president has been clear on this.
28:10So I'd encourage you to get on the CBP Home app, and you can self-deport today, and we will facilitate that.
28:16You can take your entire family with you, people and your loved ones, and we will facilitate you coming to this country correctly.
28:23Everybody has the opportunity to do that.
28:25If you wait until we have to arrest you, you will never get to be an American,
28:29much less live here and work here and be able to pursue the American dream.
28:32Last question.
28:33Madam Secretary, Alejandro Ortiz with Telemundo 52.
28:35Yes.
28:36You just said that you go after the worst of the worst.
28:39But we've seen ICE arresting immigrants in front of their court hearings when they go to their annual immigration check-ins.
28:46Even if they're going through the legal process, are we sending a message to the country that people even with no criminal record
28:54and that they're taking the legal correct path are not safe?
28:58If they took the legal correct path, they would have come here legally.
29:01They wouldn't have come into our country illegally.
29:03Second of all, they have final removal orders.
29:06They have final removal orders and we're following...
29:10That's a civil offense but not a criminal record.
29:13It is actually under the acts that the President has invoked through his executive orders, it actually is a criminal offense.
29:20And so one of the things that we need to remember is that when you're going out there and talking about
29:25what is happening with individuals who are in this country illegally is that they have the opportunity every single day
29:31to return back home and we will work with them and facilitate that and work with their families.
29:36But if they choose to wait back and to not make that decision today, then they are subject to this type of operation
29:43that will target those that have criminal activity and backgrounds and perpetuators of violence first.
29:49Those are our targets.
29:50But we are going to make sure that we're bringing peace back to the city of Los Angeles.
29:54I just talked to an immigration attorney.
29:56She told me she has hundreds of cases of people coming in asking for asylum.
30:01They go to their immigration check-in.
30:03So my only question, too, I'd say a question back to you is, which laws in the United States should be enforced
30:09and which ones shouldn't?
30:11I mean, now my job, here's the deal, guys.
30:13My job is not to pick and choose which laws we enforce and which ones we don't.
30:17We have laws in this country and they matter.
30:19If you want the law changed, go to Congress.
30:22When's the last time you went to Capitol Hill and told your senator or representative to change it?
30:26That's what they need to do.
30:27This is the perfect time for Congress to make a decision on how they want people in this country
30:32to be able to have an opportunity to come here legally and to fix this.
30:36We, as law enforcement officers and as the National Security Department and agency,
30:41my job is to uphold the law.
30:43And that's what I will continue to do.
30:45Yes, sir, I'm going to finish with you.
30:47I kind of like the Bass Pro hat, too, so I'm going to come here and then I'm going to go to you.
30:51So go ahead.
30:52Yes.
30:53Is this unique to Los Angeles?
30:54Does Los Angeles have something or can other cities answer?
30:57I will say these operations have been much more difficult because of Los Angeles and California's sanctuary policies.
31:03SB 54 has been difficult for us.
31:06And we don't have the backup of your local law enforcement.
31:09That's put our officers in danger.
31:11In fact, even this morning we had Highway Patrol that we were working with.
31:15I was talking to officers.
31:17They were so happy that we were here and they were grateful that we were here interdicting with these criminals.
31:22And then the governor found out that I was here and he pulled them off of me and told them to go back home and to not cooperate with us anymore.
31:28If you don't think your governor's being political, he gets up every single day and the first hat he puts on is the political one.
31:34And then he makes a decision that's best for him and his family.
31:37And then he makes a decision that's best for what his future is.
31:40Maybe 10 or 15 steps down the line he'll decide what's best for his people.
31:44That's what your governor does.
31:46Next I'm going to come to you.
31:47Thank you, Ms. Secretary.
31:48Can you talk about the potential change in the policy with President Trump talking about maybe suggesting an exemption for long-standing farm workers and hotel workers?
31:55Yeah, I think the President recognizes that we have some Department of Labor regulations and laws that we can utilize in certain situations.
32:03And he and I have discussed this at length and with other cabinet officials.
32:06And the President and I will continue to look at that and evaluate what we can do as far as individuals and facilitating a workforce in this country that we know are people who want to be here legally.
32:18What the consequences are for them breaking the law, because everybody when they break the law there has to be consequences.
32:24But what we can do to facilitate making sure that those who really do love the United States of America have the opportunity at some point to live here and to be a part of our future and to be a part of this country.
32:35And our economy and the dream of raising their children here.
32:39All right, Secretary.
32:40Thank you, everybody.
32:41Have you been able to tour Los Angeles?
32:42Have you been able to tour Los Angeles while you're here?
32:44And what's your impression?
32:45Yeah, I've been traveling around Los Angeles the last, all morning.
32:47What did you see?
32:48I would love to know what you saw.
32:49I saw a lot of graffiti, a lot of destruction.
32:51I saw quite a bit of, you know, where we saw some of the activity.
32:55We were staying close to downtown where we were last night.
32:58It was very interesting to me.
33:00I would have preferred to have gotten into some areas that I know I was respecting the curfew.
33:04Because I landed after midnight and then we left the hotel this morning before 5 a.m., around 5 a.m.
33:10So, but some of those areas that we were able to see, it makes me sad.
33:15This is a phenomenal state.
33:17And this is such a beautiful city.
33:19So you were downtown, though.
33:20But you only saw downtown since you've been here.
33:22No, I've been driving.
33:23I mean, we've been in the car most of the morning doing different operations.
33:25Would you agree, Secretary, that...
33:27But I mean, are you not, don't you want your downtown to be beautiful?
33:30No, I just wanted to know, I wanted to know your impression of what you've seen if it was
33:33only downtown or if you've seen other parts of Los Angeles.
33:36I mean, I've been here many times before.
33:37Yeah.
33:38But as far as this trip, we've been out on operations with law enforcement officers.
33:42And so we've covered quite a bit of territory.
33:44And I'll still be here doing different things in different areas.
33:47But I would say that everybody should want their downtown.
33:50And if you're a business owner in a downtown, if you're a family that lives there, you want
33:54it to be safe.
33:55And you want it to be beautiful.
33:56Just quantifying the nuance, Secretary.
33:58Thank you, everybody.
33:59Appreciate it.
34:01We will take any follow-ups later.
34:03You bet.
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