White House lawn lined with mugshot-style posters showing arrested immigrants, alleged crimes

The sun rose on President Trump’s 99th day in office Monday to reveal scores of booking photos lining the White House North Lawn’s perimeter that the administration claims depict immigrants who have previous convictions or charges such as murder, kidnapping, sexual assault of a child and rape. 

The booking photos do not bear the names of the individuals in the photos, but a White House X account posted photos that included names. 

The Trump administration is highlighting its aggressive immigration enforcement measures to mark Mr. Trump’s nearly 100 days as president, particularly when it comes to immigrants suspected or convicted of violent crimes and drug crimes. 

Tuesday will mark 100 days in office for Mr. Trump. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president will sign two executive orders on Monday to empower law enforcement to pursue criminals and to publish a list of U.S. jurisdictions “that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

“If you’re an illegal alien in the United States, this message is for you. You cannot hide from ICE. We are actively looking for you,” White House border czar Tom Homan said. 

The booking photos, which the White House says show non-citizens in the country illegally, are displayed in a way that they will show up in television appearances by White House journalists and administration officials from the North Lawn. CBS News has not been able to independently verify the White House statements about the individuals in the photos.

“We will hunt you down,” the White House X account posted, along with a photo of the North Lawn display. “You will face justice. You will be deported — and you will never set foot on American soil again.”

Homan said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the administration “got the most secure border in the history of this nation, and President Trump was able to accomplish that in seven weeks.”

But the Trump administration has been criticized for its handling of some migrant arrests and deportations, particularly after invoking wartime authorities to deport immigrants suspected of being gang members to an El Salvador prison without due process. In recent days, the administration has also been under scrutiny for deporting very young U.S. citizens with their non-citizen mothers out of the country, according to advocates. Homan told Brennan that due process was afforded, saying that U.S. citizens are not deported, but rather, their parents were given the choice to take their children. 

A recent CBS News poll found 56% of respondents approved of the Trump administration’s program to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. But a majority of respondents did not think it was acceptable to mistakenly detain or deport legal U.S. residents. Overall, the poll showed 49% of Americans approve of his handling of immigration, while 51% disapprove.