Top Trump immigration spokesperson to leave DHS : NPR
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, speaks during a news conference at Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in May 2025.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
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Jose Luis Magana/AP
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, is leaving the agency, the department confirmed Tuesday.
McLaughlin has become the public face and voice defending the Trump administration’s mass deportation policy and immigration tactics over the past year.
“McLaughlin began planning to leave in December but pushed back his departure until the aftermath of the shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents, according to people briefed on his departure,” DHS said in a statement to NPR.
POLITICO was first reported his departure. It’s unclear where she’s going next. McLaughlin said in a statement that Lauren Bis, currently her deputy, will replace her as assistant secretary for public affairs, while Katie Zacharia will become deputy assistant secretary.
“I am immensely proud of the team we have built and the historic accomplishments made by this administration and the Department of Homeland Security,” McLaughlin said in the statement. “I look forward to continuing the fight.”
McLaughlin’s departure comes at a tumultuous time for the agency. DHS is currently closed after lawmakers failed to pass a budget to fund it through the end of the fiscal year in September.
And top immigration officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, were summoned to Capitol Hill to testify about the immigration crackdown after immigration agents fatally shot Good and Pretti in Minneapolis.
McLaughlin has been one of the agency’s most public-facing spokespeople, participating in several network interviews. In addition to speaking about DHS’s immigration initiatives, McLaughlin also answered interviews and questions about Noem’s handling. national disaster relief and resourcesand other parts of the sprawling agency.
Noem praised McLaughlin’s work in an online statement, saying she “served with exceptional dedication, tenacity and professionalism.”
“While we are sad to see her go, we are grateful for her service and wish Tricia nothing but success,” she wrote on the social platform X.
Immigration makes up the largest part of McLaughlin’s portfolio. She has often used network shows and social media to promote the administration’s arrests of immigrants, defend the actions of DHS agents, and encourage immigrants to “self-deport.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries welcomed the news of his departure online; “Another MAGA extremist kicked out of DHS. Noem next,” he posted on X.
Most recently, McLaughlin defended Noem’s description of Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” after Customs and Border Protection agents shot him — claims that ultimately drew scrutiny from lawmakers, including some Republicans.
“The first statements were made after the CBP reports on the ground. It was a very chaotic scene,” McLaughlin told Fox Business at the end of last month. “The first statements released were based on the chaotic scene on the ground and we really need to have truthful and accurate information to come to light.”
During congressional hearings last week, the heads of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Enforcement both denied that they, or anyone under their chains of command, gave Noem any information to support this claim that Pretti was a domestic terrorist.
An NPR analysis published in January showed that DHS did unproven or incorrect claims on social media or in press releases to describe immigrants targeted for deportation or American citizens arrested during protests.
