BURSTAssistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin on Wednesday shot back at Kim Kardashian for denouncing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations that targeted workers in the Los Angeles community in recent days.
“@KimKardashian, which one of these convicted child molesters, murderers, drug traffickers and rapists would you like to stay in the county?” McLaughlin wrote in a post on social platform X.
McLaughlin attached four images of individuals that McLaughlin said ICE agents arrested in the Los Angeles area — which has seen an uptick in protests following the raids. The individuals were identified in each photo by name and by a brief summary of their alleged criminal history.
“These are just a few of the convicted illegal criminals who have been picked up in the last 72 hours,” McLaughlin added.
The DHS official was responding directly Kardashian’s criticism of the ICE enforcement operations in LA. The celebrity called on the public to “speak up” against the “injustice.”
“When we're told that ICE exists to keep our country safe and remove violent criminals — great. But when we witness innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families in inhumane ways, we have to speak up," Kardashian wrote in a post shared to her Instagram Story. "We have to do what's right."
The reality star reflected on her own childhood in the area, saying she saw “how deeply immigrants are woven into the fabric of this city,” adding, “They are our neighbors, friends, classmates, coworkers, and family.”
“No matter where you fall politically, it's clear that our communities thrive because of the contributions of immigrants,” she continued. “We can't turn a blind eye when fear and injustice keep people from living their lives freely and safely. There HAS to be a BETTER way.”
Trump administration officials have stressed that their focus is on deporting convicted criminals who are in the country illegally, but they have noted that the immigration enforcement operations have included individuals with no separate violent criminal history.
Kardashian has at times used her platform to advocate for policy issues she views important. She worked closely with the first Trump administration to pass criminal justice reform.
President Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his immigration agenda, defending the administration's decision to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles amid the protests and blasting California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for the unrest.
"The INCOMPETENT Governor of California was unable to provide protection in a timely manner when our Ice Officers, GREAT Patriots they are, were attacked by an out of control mob of agitators, troublemakers, and/or insurrectionists," he wrote in one post on Truth Social.
"If our troops didn’t go into Los Angeles, it would be burning to the ground right now, just like so much of their housing burned to the ground," the president added in a separate post. The great people of Los Angeles are very lucky that I made the decision to go in and help!!!"
Newsom also took a swing at Trump a day earlier, calling the administration's raids and the deployment of troops a "brazen abuse of power."