Tom Homan says 60% of ICE arrests involve criminal migrants: ‘That’s a good percentage’

WASHINGTON, DC: Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said about 60% of people currently being arrested by immigration authorities are ‘criminal’ undocumented immigrants, while the remaining 40% are not, describing the figures as ‘a good percentage.’

Homan made the remarks during an appearance on ‘The Ingraham Angle’, where he discussed immigration enforcement priorities under President Donald Trump.

Tom Homan defends arrests of undocumented immigrants

During the interview, Homan acknowledged that immigration authorities are arresting some people who are not considered criminal or national security threats.

“Look, we’re going to arrest non-criminals, even though President Trump is prioritizing public safety threats, national security threats.”

“If you look at the numbers right now, about 60% of everybody we’re arresting is a criminal. The other 40% are not. I think that’s a good percentage.” However, he defended the approach by pointing to the percentage of arrests involving individuals with criminal records.

“I think that’s a better percentage than 40% criminal and 60% non-criminal. But everybody’s on the table.”

Tom Homan blames local policies for ICE raids

Homan also referenced New York Governor Kathy Hochul while explaining the administration’s enforcement strategy.

“And here is what Kathy Hochul (D) is going to get in New York: When you force us into the community to find the bad guy, and we will find them, many times they’re with others, others that may be in the country illegally, but not a target, not a criminal threat, not a national security threat.”

He argued that limits on cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration agencies force ICE officers to conduct more operations directly within communities.

He noted that some of those individuals may have lived in the United States for decades and may not be considered criminal threats, but would still face arrest because they are undocumented.

“They may have been here for 20 years. But guess what? They’re coming too, because they’re in the country illegally.” He added that ICE officers would not “turn a blind eye” to immigration violations or ignore laws passed by Congress.

“We’re not going to tell ICE to turn a blind eye to the oath they took or ignore the laws passed by Congress that we get appropriated to enforce.”

His comments reflected the administration’s broader position that unauthorized presence in the country remains grounds for enforcement action, even when individuals do not have criminal records.