MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace is once again voicing deep unease over the Trump administration’s use of emergency powers — but this time to deport suspected gang members to El Salvador. Speaking on The Bulwark podcast Tuesday, Wallace said she was “gutted” after seeing images of deportees, allegedly affiliated with the violent Tren de Aragua gang, locked up inside El Salvador’s CECOT supermax prison.
Wallace, a former communications director for President George W. Bush, was asked by host Tim Miller what scared her most about a second Trump term. “Everything,” she replied — before zeroing in on her visceral response to Trump’s deportation policy.
“I remember the first day I read about the deportations to El Salvador of the alleged Tren de Aragua members — for whom no evidence was ever presented that they had anything to do with Tren de Aragua,” Wallace said. “And I remember saying … ‘I wish I didn’t feel so gutted. And I wish I could stop thinking about these guys being scared in El Salvador’ … I saw the paid ads that Homeland Security was doing in front of the deportees who were now prisoners at CECOT … and I was gutted.”
Wallace’s concern, she explained, stemmed from a fear that abandoning anguish can lead to dehumanization and abuse. “I’m scared about how much it bothers me — that so many people are suffering,” she added.
The criticism from conservatives on X was unsparing:
This isn’t the first time Wallace has publicly admitted to being triggered — as The Daily Caller notes, it’s part of a larger pattern:
Wallace also claimed on a June 13 episode of “Pod Save America” that Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla’s forcible removal from a June 12 press conference held by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem was “one of the bleakest days” of her entire anchoring career. She called it “a chilling moment” and argued the incident was indicative of Trump’s authoritarianism.
The Policy and Legal Backlash
The deportations were carried out under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used provision invoked by President Trump on March 14 to authorize the rapid removal of foreign nationals suspected of ties to Tren de Aragua — a transnational criminal group known for brutal tactics and growing influence in North America. (RELATED: Colorado Bust: Gang-Run Nightclub For Illegal Immigrants Tied To Service Members)
According to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, intelligence supported the designation of the deportees as members of an ongoing predatory incursion into the U.S. Noem defended the move as necessary for national security.
Critics, including Wallace, continue to challenge the policy, claiming a lack of transparency and basic due process.
Supreme Court Steps In
The U.S. Supreme Court recently weighed in, permitting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act — but only with procedural safeguards in place. In its ruling, the Court required the administration to provide timely notice and an opportunity for detainees to challenge their gang designations before removal.
Despite the added safeguards, civil liberties groups remain wary of the precedent set by Trump’s deportation policy. Meanwhile, Wallace’s emotional response continues to fuel debate over the politics of immigration enforcement in the Trump era.
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I can honestly say that I’ve never heard of this person!
Hey Nicolle if you are really suffering that much about those poor old gang bangers, WHY don’t you offer to take them in and provide for their care and welfare? Betcha ya won’t make such an offer.
She would sing a different tune if she were a victim..
Wallace is a committed left-winger who cares only about herself, nothing else. She cares NOT for American lives nor its citizens. She should be investigated, charged if proof exists, and prosecuted if it does. She is an America-hater and scumbag.
They should have legally applied instead of sneaking in. All they had to do was to make their claim AT THE FIRST country past their own with a US Embassy or Consulate and wait to be considered. Instead they broke out laws. We have to obey our laws. So do they!
Wallace is a fool of the first degree.
I wish Nicolle Wallace had at least a little sympathy for these criminals’ victims. Was she so concerned when Obama deported thousands of illegals? I doubt it. It isn’t the deportation that concerns her, it is the fact that Trump is doing it and receiving public support. TDS rots the brain.
What is it with the poll? If Trump uses the emergency powers he is taking away these illegal aliens due process? Do you actually understand what the law and due process are? And WHO IS ENTITLED TO IT? Not everyone is entitled to the same due process, it depends on what and why the government is trying to do to you and who you are. And all illegal aliens are entitled to is a look by an ARTICLE 2 court, not some black robed activist ARTICLE 3 judge. Congress has stripped all Article 3 courts of their ability to hear immigration cases.
So, let me fix that poll for you.
Do you support the Trump administration’s decision to deport, under the emergency powers act, those that authorized Article 2 personnel with jurisdiction of the matter have found to be members of a gang.
1. Yes – he has the power and the authority to do so and should.
2. No – he should have to use normal immigration laws even though Congress has given him emergency powers.
3. No – we must save Democracy and all article 3 unelected, black robed, activist judges should be allowed to over rule the only elected position that is elected by the entirety of the US, because Trump bad. Screw the law to save it.
4. Not Sure – I should probably learn about the immigration laws and understand the emergency powers before making a decision. Best to only be thought an idiot than to open my mouth and remove all doubt.
Guess this site does not like their bias being called out. No problem, I will just block your emails and not got to your website anymore since you seem to act more like liberals than a site that cares about American Liberty.
They should have come legally instead of costing this Country 100’s of billions of dollars. Bet it is well over a trillion just in the last few years. This is the fault of the last administration and anyone that votes for them votes our Country out of existence.