Karoline Leavitt: President Trump will not tolerate illegal immigrant crime
The Trump administration says it is taking steps to prevent the early release of an undocumented immigrant convicted of killing two American teenagers in a 2021 DUI crash.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized the administration’s stance during an appearance on “America Reports” Wednesday, calling the case a stark example of what she described as a broken immigration system.
“President Trump is not going to tolerate illegal immigrant crime,” Leavitt said. “This individual case represents everything that is wrong with our immigration system.”
Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano, who was in the U.S. illegally, was convicted in 2022 of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after he crashed into a vehicle carrying 19-year-olds Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin. Both teens were killed in the fiery collision. Ortega-Anguiano was sentenced to 10 years in prison but is now expected to be released early, prompting backlash from the victims’ families and immigration authorities.
Leavitt said the administration is working to ensure he remains behind bars.
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“We will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and ensure that illegal immigrants who not only break our nation’s immigration laws, but then further commit heinous acts of violence against law-abiding American citizens in our country are held to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.
An ICE detainer has been issued, according to Trump “border czar” Tom Homan, who says he is coordinating with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office says the state will honor the federal detainer, and Ortega-Anguiano will be transferred to ICE custody before his expected release in July.
Leavitt previously warned that if California officials refused to cooperate, the administration would be prepared to escalate its response
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“The Department of Justice will be seeking a conviction against this man where he will spend time in federal prison for taking the lives of those two young Americans,” she said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi weighed in on the case, posting on X (formerly Twitter):
“This is absolutely unconscionable. What about justice for these teens? What about the rights of their parents? @TheJusticeDept will work with ICE to make sure this illegal alien receives full punishment for his crimes.”
Leavitt argued that Ortega-Anguiano’s case highlights systemic failures, noting his previous two deportations.
Anya Varfolomeeva and Nicholay Osokin were killed in an Orange County, Calif., car crash in 2021. (Courtesy of the Varfolomeev and Osokin families)
“This individual was twice deported but was allowed back into our country by the previous administration, took the lives two young American’s and is now barely facing any consequences,” she told “America Reports” co-hosts Sandra Smith and John Roberts. “We will not tolerate it, we will not stand for that.”
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Leavitt also criticized recent judicial decisions that have hindered the administration’s deportation efforts. She pointed to a recent district court ruling that temporarily blocked the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members.
She also denounced Democratic lawmakers who have traveled to El Salvador to visit deported individuals, including MS-13 suspect Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
“You have seen Democrat elected officials who swear an oath to stand up for their constituents and law-abiding American citizens, spending more time advocating for illegal alien criminals, gang bangers, and wife beaters in the case of Abrego Garcia from Maryland,” Leavitt said. “It’s despicable, it is disgusting, and we are going to continue to call them out.”
Despite legal challenges and political resistance, Leavitt insisted the Trump administration remains committed to its immigration agenda.
“The president will not only win in the court of law, but he is winning in the court of public opinion,” she said. “And he is delivering on his promise to secure our homeland.”
