Tricia McLaughlin, the Homeland Security assistant secretary who emerged as the unapologetic voice of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations, is leaving the agency.
As the lead spokesperson for the parent agency of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the Border Patrol, McLaughlin challenged reporters daily and at all hours — frequently calling them out individually on social media — as the administration deployed thousands of officers into various cities.
Her sharply worded news releases — sometimes making allegations about demonstrators and deportees that later proved false — and constant TV appearances made her possibly the most quoted person in the administration aside from President Donald Trump himself.
“Tricia McLaughlin has served with exceptional dedication, tenacity and professionalism as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday.
In the wake of the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota, McLaughlin doubled down on the administration’s characterization of the two U.S. citizens killed by immigration officers as domestic terrorists prior to the completion of an investigation. McLaughlin claimed Good, who was killed in January, “was using her vehicle to block-in law enforcement officers and obstruct lawful operations,” and claimed Pretti, who was killed that same month, “violently resisted” officers.
Bystander video later proved both characterizations misleading at best.
McLaughlin also denied that ICE detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos or that he was used as bait to arrest his father, whom she accused of abandoning his son.
She has also defended the agency’s use of administrative warrants to enter homes rather than warrants signed by judges in immigration enforcement operations. The reason for McLaughlin’s departure was not immediately clear. News of her departure comes during a partial funding lapse of the DHS that began Feb. 14, after Congress failed to agree on a funding bill. Democrats in particular refused support unless major changes were made to the department’s immigration enforcement policies. Vaughn Hillyard and Akayla Gardner contributed to this report.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian. Recommended
