WATCH: Trump Expertly Turns The Tables On Reporter: ‘That’s What The Law Says’

President Donald Trump took a firm stance against illegal immigration Friday, forcefully responding to a reporter’s attempt to question his authority on mass deportations. In a press conference, Trump defended his administration’s enforcement of immigration laws, countering the journalist’s concerns with a pointed question about his predecessor’s policies.

“Do you think you have the authority, the power to round up people, deport them, and then you’re under no obligation to a court to show the evidence against them?” the reporter asked.

Trump, not missing a beat, fired back, “That’s what the law says, and that’s what our country needs because… unfortunately, they allowed millions of people to come into our country. Totally unvetted, totally unchecked.” He specifically blamed the Biden administration for the crisis, arguing that his predecessor had no legal standing to open the borders to such an extent.

The president continued, flipping the question back on the reporter: “So you ought to ask, ‘Did he have the authority to allow millions of people?’ Did Biden have the authority to do something that’s unthinkable, have open borders where millions of people poured into our country, totally unvetted and totally unchecked, just as you would say. And many of those people were criminals.”

Trump cited data indicating that over 11,000 known murderers had entered the country under Biden’s policies. “Many of them were from jails and prisons and mental institutions and gang members and drug dealers and very dangerous people. Many were murderers. We have 11,088 that we know of murderers. They murdered of that number. At least half killed more than one person.”

WATCH:

The exchange comes amid controversy over last-minute pardons granted by former President Joe Biden, which Trump has declared void due to Biden’s apparent use of an autopen. The issue of Biden’s use of an autopen to sign critical legal documents, including pardons, has raised alarms about whether he was even aware of what he was approving.

“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!”

Among those pardoned were Biden’s embattled son Hunter, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and other members of the January 6th Committee who accused Trump of inciting the Capitol breach. According to a report from the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, nearly all of Biden’s official signatures—including his withdrawal from the 2024 race—were generated by an autopen.

As part of his immigration crackdown, Trump also invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to order the detention and deportation of all Venezuelan nationals suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua prison gang, which has been linked to violent crimes across the United States.

The gang, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, has been tied to kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and organized crime. Reports indicate that members of the gang entered the country in droves during Biden’s tenure, with some taking over an entire apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado.

Trump’s order faced an immediate legal challenge, as a federal judge temporarily blocked it following a lawsuit filed by Venezuelan migrants in Texas and New York.

With immigration remaining a defining issue of his presidency, Trump continues to stand his ground, calling out Biden’s failures while reinforcing his commitment to securing the border and upholding the law.