US President Donald Trump turned a routine flagpole unveiling into an unexpected moment on Wednesday, jokingly asking construction workers outside the White House, “Any illegal immigrants here?” as cameras rolled and reporters looked on.“Any illegal immigrants here?” Trump asked the workers, who were wearing hard hats and standing behind him. Some of them chuckled and shook their heads in response.The question followed a reporter’s query about Trump’s new deportation push. “We’re taking them out by the thousands. Murderers, drug dealers, people that are mentally insane, from insane asylums,” Trump said before turning to the workers.He then added, “Do we have anybody here who’s a member of — no, I don’t think so. You’ve known these people for a long time? Any illegal immigrants?” He continued, “If there were, we’ll find out. Your whole life will be destroyed because of this press conference. They’ll destroy these people. I didn’t want to tell them that before they stood up.”Despite the remarks being delivered in a seemingly light-hearted tone, Trump’s comments drew attention due to his administration’s ongoing hardline immigration stance. He reassured the workers: “Don’t worry, I think you’re gonna be OK.”The press conference followed the installation of two 88-foot flagpoles, which Trump said were a personal gift to the White House. Writing on social media the day before, he said, “These are the most magnificent poles made – They are tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality.”Trump also said the poles were “always missing from this magnificent place” and hoped they would remain there for years.The flagpoles were installed at Trump’s instruction amid his renewed push to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants across major US cities. In a recent social media post, Trump instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to do “all in their power” to carry out what he called the largest mass deportation effort in history.“In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport illegal aliens in America’s largest cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where millions upon millions of illegal aliens reside,” he wrote over the weekend.
