Leavitt: Abrego-Garcia “Was Never Going to Live a Peaceful Life in Maryland”; Biden “Shocked He’s Speaking at Night”; SS Fraud EO

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a briefing in April 2025 that closed the Abrego-Garcia case, mocked Biden’s evening speech, and announced a Social Security fraud crackdown. On Abrego-Garcia, she was definitive: “He was a foreign terrorist. He was an MS-13 gang member. He was engaged in human trafficking. There is never going to be a world in which this individual is going to live a peaceful life in Maryland.” On Biden’s planned speech, she quipped: “My first reaction was I’m shocked that he is speaking at nighttime. I thought his bedtime was much earlier.” She then announced Trump would sign a memorandum stopping illegal aliens from receiving Social Security benefits and expanding fraud prosecution to 50 U.S. Attorney offices.

”Never Going to Live a Peaceful Life in Maryland”

Leavitt addressed the Abrego-Garcia case with finality.

A reporter framed the question: “Administration officials made it very clear that El Salvador is responsible. Yet El Salvador’s president said they’re not going to do anything with him. So who is responsible for this man and where is he going to end up?”

Leavitt corrected the premise: “First of all, President Bukele said that he is not going to smuggle a foreign terrorist back into the United States of America, as many in this room and in the Democrat Party seemingly want him to do.”

She listed the facts: “Abrego-Garcia was a foreign terrorist. He is an MS-13 gang member. He was engaged in human trafficking. He illegally came into our country.”

The conclusion: “And so, deporting him back to El Salvador was always going to be the end result. There is never going to be a world in which this is an individual who’s going to live a peaceful life in Maryland, because he is a foreign terrorist and an MS-13 gang member.”

She cited the confirmation: “Not only have we confirmed that — President Bukele yesterday in the Oval Office confirmed that as well.”

She described the outcome: “He went back to his home country where he will face consequences for his gang affiliation and his engagement in human trafficking.”

Leavitt expressed frustration with the media coverage: “I’m not sure what is so difficult about this for everyone in the media to understand. And it’s appalling — truly appalling — that there has been so much time covering this alleged human trafficker and this gang member, MS-13 gang member.”

The “peaceful life in Maryland” line was the most effective soundbite of the briefing because it reframed the entire case. The media had been treating Abrego-Garcia as a sympathetic figure wrongfully deported. Leavitt was pointing out that the man was an MS-13 member convicted of human trafficking. The notion that he would have lived peacefully in Maryland — rather than continuing his criminal activities — was a fantasy that no one in law enforcement would have endorsed.

Biden at Night: “I Thought His Bedtime Was Earlier”

When asked about former President Biden’s planned evening speech on Social Security, Leavitt delivered the barb.

“My first reaction when seeing former President Biden was speaking tonight was I’m shocked that he is speaking at nighttime,” she said. “I thought his bedtime was much earlier than his speech tonight.”

The joke referenced the widely discussed reports and observations that Biden had been unable to function effectively in the evenings during his presidency — a limitation that had been cited as evidence of cognitive decline before his withdrawal from the 2024 race.

Leavitt then pivoted to substance: “I understand the topic of his speech will be Social Security. Let me make it very clear ahead of former President Biden’s remarks.”

Trump Protects Social Security

Leavitt preempted Biden’s Social Security speech with the administration’s own announcement.

“The president — this president, President Trump — is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding, tax-paying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this program,” she said. “He will always protect that program. He campaigned on it. He protected it in his first term, and he’s back again to continue protecting it.”

She then announced the new action: “Later this afternoon, the president will be signing a presidential memorandum aimed at stopping illegal aliens and other ineligible people from obtaining Social Security Act benefits.”

The memorandum contained five specific directives:

First: “The memorandum will direct the administration to ensure ineligible aliens are not receiving funds from the Social Security Act programs.”

Second: “It will expand the Social Security Administration’s fraud prosecution program to at least 50 U.S. Attorney offices.”

Third: It “establishes a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program in 15 U.S. Attorney offices.”

Fourth: “The memorandum will also require the Social Security Administration Inspector General to investigate earnings reports for individuals aged 100 or older with mismatched Social Security records to combat identity theft.”

Fifth: “The memorandum will direct the Social Security Administration to consider whether to reinstate the use of civil monetary penalties against individuals who engage in Social Security fraud — an effort that has been paused for several years.”

Leavitt summarized: “These taxpayer-funded benefits should be only for eligible taxpayers.”

She added the political dimension: “The president and Biden should think about what he did in his last term, which is allow tens of millions of illegal people into our country, many of whom were fraudulently receiving these benefits.”

The Social Security Fraud Details

The five-pronged memorandum addressed different aspects of Social Security fraud.

The investigation of earnings reports for individuals over 100 with mismatched records was particularly revealing. Identity theft in the Social Security system often involved using the Social Security numbers of deceased individuals. When earnings were reported under numbers belonging to people who would be over 100 years old, the probability that the reports were fraudulent was extremely high. The fact that this investigation needed to be ordered — rather than being a routine audit — suggested that the Social Security Administration had not been conducting basic fraud checks on its own rolls.

The expansion of fraud prosecution to 50 U.S. Attorney offices (for Social Security) and 15 offices (for Medicare and Medicaid) represented a massive scaling of enforcement capacity. Previous enforcement had been concentrated in a handful of offices, meaning most fraud went unprosecuted simply because there were not enough prosecutors assigned to the task.

The reinstatement of civil monetary penalties — “paused for several years” — meant that the previous administration had effectively suspended the financial consequences for Social Security fraud. Fraudsters who were caught faced no financial penalty beyond returning the stolen benefits. Reinstating civil monetary penalties would create a deterrent that made fraud economically risky rather than a consequence-free bet.

Key Takeaways

• Leavitt closed the Abrego-Garcia case: “He was MS-13, engaged in human trafficking. There is never a world in which he lives a peaceful life in Maryland.”
• On Biden’s evening speech: “I’m shocked he’s speaking at nighttime. I thought his bedtime was much earlier.”
• Trump signed a memorandum stopping illegal aliens from Social Security benefits and expanding fraud prosecution to 50 U.S. Attorney offices.
• The order targets identity theft via earnings reports for individuals aged 100+ with mismatched records and reinstates civil monetary penalties “paused for several years.”
• Leavitt: “Biden should think about what he did — allowing tens of millions of illegal people into our country, many fraudulently receiving these benefits.”