Tom Homan says he’s ‘sure’ ICE detains US citizens but insists ‘we don’t deport them’

WASHINGTON, DC: White House border czar Tom Homan is facing backlash after admitting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have likely detained US citizens during immigration enforcement operations under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Homan made the comments on Thursday, May 7, while speaking to reporters outside the White House, where he defended ICE tactics and insisted that American citizens are not being deported.

Tom Homan says US citizens have ‘nothing to fear’

“We deport people that are going to be deportable,” Homan said. “We arrest people that will be deportable based on suspicion. Have US citizens ever been shortly detained based on suspicion? I’m sure. I’m sure.”

While acknowledging that US citizens may have been detained during immigration sweeps, Homan repeatedly insisted that ICE officers do not deport American citizens.

“If ICE officers determine that someone is not the guy we’re looking for, you are released,” Homan said.

“But we don’t deport US citizens,” he added.

Homan also attempted to reassure Americans by saying citizens have “nothing to fear” from ICE operations.

Since Trump returned to the White House last year, immigration enforcement operations have intensified nationwide.

The issue has become especially controversial as immigration continues to dominate political debates across the country.

Democratic lawmakers accuse DHS of targeting Americans

In March, Rep Pramila Jayapal publicly accused the Department of Homeland Security of detaining American citizens during ICE operations.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Jayapal introduced four US citizens who claimed they had been detained by ICE despite not being charged with any crimes.

“DHS is supposed to be protecting our residents and upholding constitutional protections, but you’ve turned that on the head,” Jayapal said during the hearing.

“You have actually turned the United States government against its own residents,” she added while addressing former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. 

Concerns surrounding ICE operations also became part of larger political battles over DHS funding earlier this year.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries strongly criticized the idea that banning the deportation of US citizens had even become a topic of political debate.

“In what country are we living in if it’s controversial to prohibit [the deportation] of American citizens?” Jeffries asked reporters at the Capitol in January.

“That shouldn’t even be a discussion,” he added.

ICE sweeps involving children fuel growing controversy

The immigration debate became even more emotional after several cases involving US-citizen children surfaced during recent enforcement operations.

Administration officials previously argued that the children themselves were not deported, but instead left the country with parents facing deportation because families chose not to separate.

One case that drew particular attention involved a 2-year-old US citizen who was sent to Honduras with her mother and sister.

US District Judge Terry Doughty later questioned whether the child had received meaningful legal protections before leaving the country.

“The Government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her,” Doughty wrote in court documents in April 2025.

“But the Court doesn’t know that,” the judge added.