By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-29 16:41:36 | Updated at 2026-09-30 20:23:36
1 day ago
Vice President JD Vance went to bat for the administration after conflicting reports called into question the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) deportation policy.
In an exclusive interview with Vince Coglianese, host of the VINCE podcast and editorial director at the Daily Caller, Vance said that “nobody who has come into the United States illegally should remain in the United States.” This statement was in response to the Daily Wire’s reporting about a new DHS deportation guidance that the department later walked back.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were reportedly told to halt all arrests of noncriminal illegal aliens and to only arrest migrants with criminal charges or convictions. This report sparked outrage and prompted DHS to deny the report, saying “no one is off the table.” (RELATED: ‘Open Secret’: Vance Says 870,000 Suspected COVID Fraudsters Will Be Barred From Future Fed Loans)
Vance admitted that the guidance was rolled out but said it did not reflect the administration’s deportation policy as a whole.
“I think the back and forth is, unfortunately, sometimes you have people who are leaking to reporters some internal policy documents,” Vance told Coglianese. “And my understanding of what happened is … if you, let’s say, have a DHS agent and that guy can deport one person that day, he can go and deport a violent criminal or a person who hasn’t committed a violent crime; of course, we’re going to prioritize the violent criminals.”
“But that is not a reflection of overall deportation policy,” Vance added. “That’s about prioritizing fundamentally limited resources.”
.@JDVance discussed the weekend reports surrounding ICE’s deportation policies:
"If you have a DHS agent and that guy can deport one person that day, he can go and deport a violent criminal or a person who hasn't committed a violent crime. Of course we're going to prioritize the…
Vance also quantified the challenges the administration is facing with respect to deportations and pointed to the progress already being made.
“We looked at the north of 10 million illegal aliens that had come in just under the last few years of the Biden administration,” Vance told Coglianese. “And then you add another 15 or 20 million on top of that who are already here.” (RELATED: White House Pulls ICE Nominee After GOP Senator Blocks Confirmation Vote)
“So it takes a long time to bring in, to train, to recruit the kind of people who can engage in the deportations that we need,” Vance added. “But look, we’ve already, I think, gotten north of three million people out in just 18 months. Again, we have prioritized violent criminals, but nobody who has come into the United States illegally should remain in the United States. That remains our policy.”
