President-elect Donald Trump’s newly-appointed “border czar” Tom Homan previously vowed to launch the “biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen” — and once sparred with progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over his “zero-tolerance” border policy.
Homan, who was acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term and oversaw the agency’s controversial family separation policy, was tapped by the president-elect to take charge of border security, stem the surge of illegal immigration, enact mass deportations of illegal migrants, and crack down on drug cartels.
Earlier this year at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, Homan promised to “run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”
Former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Thomas Homan speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Getty Images
“Wait until 2025,” he said, “no one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.
“You’ve got my word,” he added, continuing, “Trump comes back in January, I’ll be in his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”
Since Trump’s Sunday announcement of Homan’s appointment, clips of the ex-acting ICE director talking tough on the border have gone viral.
In one clip, the no-nonsense former police officer and Border Patrol agent engages in a fiery exchange with Ocasio-Cortez during a House Oversight Committee hearing in 2019.
“I recommended zero-tolerance,” Homan says in the heated back-and-forth on the treatment of migrant families.
The family separation policy is the same “with every US citizen parent who gets arrested with their child,” he continues in the clip, which has garnered more than 3 million views on X since it was posted early Monday morning.
Donald Trump speaks to Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, during a round table meeting with members of law enforcement about sanctuary cities. REUTERS
He likened the situation to getting arrested for driving under the influence with a kid in the car, saying he would obviously separate the drunk driver from the child.
Crossing the border illegally, he emphasized, is a crime.
“If you want to seek asylum, then go to a port of entry. Do it the legal way,” he told Ocasio-Cortez.
Trump ultimately signed an executive order in 2018 reversing the family separation policy after public outcry.
In an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” just nine days before the election, Homan asserted that “families could be deported together” when asked about Trump’s promise to remove illegal immigrants from the country as soon as he takes office.
He also argued that the effort would be targeted, though exact plans for how it would be carried out and how much it would cost have yet to be determined.
“It’s not going to be a mass sweep of neighborhoods. It’s not going to be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous,” Homan said.
Thomas Homan said last month that families can be deported together. Getty Images
Homan also reiterated on Fox News Sunday night that ICE would begin deporting immigrants en masse in a “humane manner” that would not include military force.
“It’s going to be a well-targeted, planned operation conducted by the men of ICE. The men and women of ICE do this daily. They’re good at it,” he said.
“When we go out there, we’re going to know who we’re looking for. We most likely know where they’re going to be, and it’s going to be done in a humane manner.”
Homan oversaw the US immigration system when it placed a record number of immigrant children in custody, according to CNN.
He also said in 2017 that ICE would arrest undocumented people who came forward to care for the children — something previous administrations avoided.
Trump posted on social media Sunday that there is “nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders” than Homan, a contributor to the controversial conservative Project 2025 which Trump had attempted to distance himself from on the campaign trail.
The former and future president said Homan “will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.”
Homan retired as acting director of ICE in 2018 after his nomination was held up in the Senate as lawmakers expressed concerns over his record with the agency.
Elon Musk, who has emerged as one of Trump’s biggest supporters, congratulated Homan on the appointment.
Homan’s role as “border czar” in the incoming Trump administration does not require Senate confirmation.
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Publish date : 2024-11-11 01:46:00
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