Trump's heavy-handed crackdown on criminal illegals is saving lives

While the administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris chose chaos, lawlessness, and open borders, President Trump is restoring order - and he's doing it with concrete actions, not empty speeches. Thanks to his renewed leadership and relentless pressure, we are already seeing results: illegal border crossings are down by more than 90 percent in some jurisdictions due to the return of strong border security policies and the threat of immediate deportation.

But border security is only part of the problem. Just as important is what happens to criminal aliens already inside the country.

From MS-13 to Tren de Aragua, President Trump has launched an aggressive and ongoing offensive to identify, detain, and deport the most dangerous illegal criminals operating in the United States. These gangs traffic in drugs, people, and death. They are not coming for the American dream-they are coming to destroy it.

Under President Trump's leadership, thousands of illegal criminals have already been arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or have been deported, including convicted murderers, rapists, child predators, and cartel members.

The crackdown on MS-13 has led to high-profile arrests in states such as New York, Texas, and California, with special forces seizing weapons and drugs and dismantling human trafficking networks.

The Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan transnational gang known for its extreme violence, has been officially designated as a priority threat by agencies aligned with President Trump. Arrests have increased, deportations are accelerating, and cooperation between ICE, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and local law enforcement has been reactivated with a vengeance.

Unlike the Biden-Harris administration - which handed out electronic bracelets and lawyers to migrants linked to drug cartels - President Trump's team treats illegal criminals for what they are: national security threats who deserve no leniency.

President Trump is not waiting for another tragedy to act. He is demanding, and in many cases succeeding, in returning ICE and Border Patrol to full enforcement mode - arresting and deporting criminals, eliminating sanctuary city loopholes, and backing officers with the resources and authority they need.

Let's be clear: this is a war on crime, not immigrants. Legal immigrants - especially Hispanics - support these efforts, because we know that our families, our neighborhoods, and our children are the most exposed when MS-13 or Tren de Aragua infiltrate under the guise of seeking asylum.

This is about protecting our country. Period.

The left can cry about "due process" for criminal aliens all they want. But President Trump is on the side of the victims: of women assaulted in sanctuary cities, of young men stabbed in parks, of families torn apart by fentanyl distributed by illegal gangs.

There is only one man who is serious about cleaning up this mess - and he is already doing it.

President Trump isn't just promising to end the violence. He's fighting it now. Every criminal deported, every gang dismantled, and every illegal crossing prevented is a life saved and a community made safer.

The American people deserve to live in peace. President Trump is delivering.

Bob Unanue serves as senior advisor to America First Works and chairman of the Hispanic Leadership Coalition. He served as president of Goya Foods and Goya Cares and served as executive producer of the film Sound of Freedom.

Jorge Martinez is senior advisor and national director of Hispanic liaison at America First Works. He previously served as press secretary at the U.S. Department of Justice.