The pink heart-covered card says “come here illegally, and we’ll deport you”
The White House has issued a blunt Valentine’s Day message to deter illegal entry into the United States, sharing a pink card featuring images of President Donald Trump alongside his newly appointed border czar, Tom Homan.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been carrying out daily raids across the US since Trump took office on January 20. An estimated 11 to 35 million people are believed to be living in the US illegally. Trump promised on the campaign trail that, if elected, he would reduce this number by leading “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
“Roses are red, violets are blue, come here illegally, and we’ll deport you,” said the card, shared on the White House’s official X account on Friday, with the caption “Happy Valentine’s Day” and a heart emoji.
The border crackdown has already shown significant results, with daily illegal migrant crossings along the southern border dropping to an average of 359 – a decline of more than 90% compared to last February, according to internal data cited by the New York Post.
Immigration officers made approximately 11,000 at-large arrests in the first 18 days of the operation, accounting for one-third of total arrests made by ICE in the previous year under former President Joe Biden. At least 5,693 of them have been deported as of February 3, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In addition, the Trump administration has increased reliance on alternative detention facilities to handle the increased numbers – including the transfer of some detainees to Guantanamo Bay.
Trump’s initiative faced pushback from several Democratic-led states and local jurisdictions. Multiple sanctuary states, including California, New York, and Illinois, along with more than 200 cities and counties, have resisted cooperating with federal immigration efforts, arguing that less than half of those arrested had prior criminal convictions or pending charges.
The White House insists that everyone who entered the country illegally “broke our nation’s laws and therefore they are criminals.” Tom Homan, the newly appointed border czar, told Fox News late last month he’s not satisfied with the pace of migrant deportations. He blamed sanctuary policies for complicating the administration’s focus on detaining individuals who pose a threat to public safety – and warned that more collaterals could end up being arrested “if they want to play that game.”
