White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt snapped at NBC reporter Gabe Gutierrez on Thursday after the journalist asked about the Trump administration’s new migrant facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz," which was recently ordered to be shut down within 60 days by a judge.
“The administration has not been shy fighting back against what it calls 'activist judges,' but why is it backing down this time?” Gutierrez asked during a White House press briefing in the West Wing at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Leavitt immediately fired back at Gutierrez, claiming that the Trump administration was “not backing down,” and insisted that the administration would continue to fight the judge’s decision.
“We're not backing down!” Leavitt said. “We've always said that we're going to continue to fight in the court of law for what's right because we know that what this administration is doing with respect to all policy, but also immigration policy, is above the books, and we're abiding by our nation's immigration laws.”
According to an email from the Florida Division of Emergency Management obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, "Alligator Alcatraz," constructed for $245 million and housing hundreds of migrants, is expected to be empty in a matter of days, pending its closure after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered the facility be shuttered due to environmental concerns.
In her response to Gutierrez, Leavitt also blasted Williams as an “activist judge,” and vowed to push back on the judge’s order to shutter the facility.
“We think it's despicable that an activist judge has inserted themselves in this migrant detention facility to the point where (the Department of Homeland Security) is now having to relocate these illegal immigrants to other detention facilities around the country,” Leavitt said.
“That is an unnecessary burden on DHS and these agents who should be removing these criminals from our community; that's what the American people elected this president to do. So we've always maintained we're going to comply with court orders, but we're also going to fight back on them on the merits of the law.”
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