White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday pointed to newly released crime data showing a historic nationwide decline in violent crime, arguing the figures validate President Donald Trump’s law-and-order approach just one year into his return to office.
Speaking during a press briefing, Leavitt cited statistics compiled by the Council on Criminal Justice indicating that the national murder rate fell in 2025 to its lowest level since 1900. She credited the sharp drop to the Trump administration’s aggressive focus on border security, expanded federal law enforcement operations, and the removal of violent criminal illegal aliens from American communities.
“This dramatic decline is what happens when a president secures the border, fully mobilizes federal law enforcement to arrest violent criminals, and aggressively deports the worst of the worst illegal aliens from our country,” Leavitt said. “The numbers don’t lie.”
Leavitt highlighted a surge in federal enforcement activity under Trump, noting that the FBI doubled its violent crime arrests in 2025 compared to the previous year. She said more than 67,000 arrests have been made since Trump’s inauguration, which the administration says represents a 197 percent increase over the same period under the Biden administration.
According to Leavitt, the FBI has also dramatically expanded its efforts against organized crime. She said federal agents disrupted roughly 1,800 gangs and criminal enterprises nationwide, marking a 210 percent increase from the year before. In addition, she said the bureau arrested 1,700 child predators and more than 300 human traffickers. Leavitt added that six of the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted fugitives have been captured in Washington, D.C., since Trump took office.
The press secretary also pointed to striking crime reductions in the nation’s capital following Trump’s decision last summer to nationalize the city’s police force and deploy hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops. While the move drew intense criticism from Democrats and civil liberties groups, Leavitt said the results now speak for themselves.
“As of last week, D.C. homicides were down 62 percent,” she said. Leavitt added that motor vehicle theft has dropped by 53 percent and that 2025 recorded the fewest violent gun crimes of any year in the city’s available data. More than 2,000 arrests have been made since the federal takeover, she said, noting that National Guard troops remain deployed as part of ongoing crime suppression efforts.
Similar strategies have been rolled out in other high-crime cities, including Memphis, Tennessee, where federal agents and National Guard members were deployed with the backing of state and local officials. Leavitt said nearly 5,600 arrests have been made in Memphis since the deployment began.
She reported that aggravated assaults in the city are down 53 percent, sexual assaults have dropped by 53 percent, and robberies are down 70 percent, according to the administration’s figures.
Leavitt framed the administration’s broader crime strategy as inseparable from its immigration enforcement policies, emphasizing the removal of criminal illegal aliens as a core component of public safety. The administration has repeatedly said its focus is on targeting the most dangerous offenders and directing federal resources to cities where local leaders have struggled to curb violent crime.
While Democrats continue to accuse Trump of overreach and politicizing federal law enforcement, the White House is leaning heavily on the crime data as evidence that its approach is delivering results.
“This is what tough, unapologetic law enforcement looks like,” Leavitt said. “And it’s saving lives.”
