JD Vance says it’s ‘hard to take seriously’ critics of deportation who ‘don’t care about the problem’

Speaking with columnist Ross Douthat in Rome, where the two discussed immigration policy and Vance’s Catholic faith, the vice president addressed growing scrutiny over high-profile deportations carried out under the administration. Douthat drew a comparison to the Bush-era deportations following the September 11 attacks, when individuals were removed from the country under unfounded suspicion that they were terrorists. He suggested a similar practice may be occurring under President Trump, with individuals deported without an extensive legal review.

Vance called that concern a “fair question” but was skeptical of the motives behind many of the criticisms.

“It is hard to take seriously the extraordinarily emotive condemnations of people who don’t care about the problem that I’m trying to solve and that the president is trying to solve,” he said.

He added, “When I see people who for legitimately four years told me that I was a xenophobe for thinking that what Joe Biden was doing at the border was a serious problem, I am less willing — there’s a witness element to this — and I’m less willing to believe the witness of people who are now saying that this MS-13 gang member, and we’ll talk about that case in a second, this guy is somehow a very sympathetic person and you violated his civil rights, et cetera, et cetera.”

Vance said that in some cases, he personally reviews details about specific deportations. “I haven’t asked every question about every case, but the ones where I have asked questions and I try to get to the bottom of what’s going on, I feel quite comfortable with what’s happened. And the one that I’ve spent the most time understanding is the one of the Maryland father.”

Vance’s comments were about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose deportation has gained national attention. Critics have attempted to brand him as merely a “Maryland father” who was unfairly removed from the country. Though the administration officials have affirmed that Abrego Garcia entered the country illegally and has ties to the violent MS-13 gang.

“I think this guy was not just a gang member, but a reasonably high-level gang member in MS-13. I think he had engaged in some pretty ugly conduct,” Vance continued. “Legally, he had multiple hearings before an immigration judge. He had a valid deportation order. What he also had was a sort of exception, what’s called a withholding order, that basically said: Yes, you can deport this guy. No one doubts that we could have deported this guy, but you can’t deport this guy to El Salvador because of particular conditions that obtained, I believe, in 2019, when his case was adjudicated.”

Vance acknowledged that the Supreme Court later determined the administration must “facilitate” his return to the US, but pointed out that the president of El Salvador refused to cooperate in sending him back.

Douthat responded to the broader deportation strategy of the administration by saying, “Regardless of the particulars of a case, it just seems like you are setting up a machinery that people of good faith who are not hostile to your policies would reasonably regard as dangerous.”

Vance pushed back, saying, “I understand the point. Especially as what the president says, or what I say, is refracted through the lens of an American press that I have my complaints with. But I’m going to defend my boss here. What did he say? I’m going to think about doing this only in cases of the very, very worst people, No. 1. And No. 2, only if it’s consistent with American law.”