Border Czar Tom Homan vows to ramp up Trump's mass deportation agenda: ‘I want more’
WASHINGTON, DC: White House border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday, May 20, said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will not back down from President Donald Trump's mass deportation plans.
"Am I happy with the numbers right now? No, I want more, too," Homan stated, explaining that while officers have already removed over 800,000 people during Trump's second term, the administration plans to increase that number significantly.
Tom Homan targets top threats but remains broad
Tom Homan, during an interview with 'Washington Examiner,' said the administration is focusing its first efforts on undocumented immigrants who pose the biggest risk to American communities.
"We are after everyone, but again, you've got to prioritize those who are the biggest threats to our national security, public safety," Homan explained.
He also defended the agency against critics who think ICE is only looking for criminals, stating, "I know there's a lot of noise out there about, 'You shouldn't be just concentrating on criminals, you ought to be arresting everybody,' but we are pursuing a broad range of arrests."
Tom Homan vows to push past roadblocks
Homan explained that deportation numbers dropped slightly in recent months because of sanctuary city policies, court rulings, and a 75-day Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
"There's a lot of argument within the world that [questions], 'Are we keeping our promise?'" Homan said regarding the criticism.
He blamed the legal system for slowing down their work, adding, "I've never seen so many activist judges … which adds to the 12% decline in arrests."
Even with these challenges, he made it clear that the drop is only temporary, saying, "Numbers are slightly down, but there's a plan: Get them back up and even higher."
Homan cites record deportations, targets sanctuary laws
Homan emphasized that the current administration has removed more people than previous administrations.
"Total of 800,000 out of the country," Homan said. "If you take 60% of that, criminals, hundreds of thousands of public safety threats, have been removed from this country. Name another president who's done that."
He also warned that sanctuary city laws make the job dangerous because agents must find people in neighborhoods instead of picking them up safely inside jails.
Describing a meeting with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Homan noted, "I explained to her again, it's safer for the community, safer for the officer, and safer for the alien to arrest him in the safety and security of jail."
To solve this problem, Homan said the administration is preparing legal action against these cities, concluding, "I've been fighting sanctuary cities for the last 20 years. I think we've got an … acting attorney general now that's going to take it seriously."
