Team Trump Issues Groundbreaking Announcement on Arrests
Tom Homan, set to take on the role of border czar, has warned that numerous illegal immigrants who have never faced detention before will likely be caught in upcoming arrests. This comes as President-elect Donald Trump’s administration prepares for a large-scale crackdown on illegal immigration starting from day one.
In a phone interview with the Washington Examiner, Homan shared insights into the Trump administration’s strategy to apprehend, detain, and deport hundreds of thousands — potentially millions — of illegal immigrants residing in the United States.
According to Homan, even immigrants who are merely living with or associated with someone who has a deportation order could be sent back to their home country if their sole offense was entering the U.S. illegally.
“In sanctuary cities, expect a lot of collateral arrests. I mean, not priority criminal arrests. We can’t get the bad guy in jail. That means we have to go into the communities and find them, and there may be others. We expect a lot of collateral arrests,” Homan explained.
The federal agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws in the U.S. often faces challenges transferring illegal immigrants from state or local police custody to federal hands. Sanctuary cities and states, such as California, restrict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from accessing detainees, further complicating efforts.
Democratic-led states and sanctuary jurisdictions argue that it is not their responsibility to assist federal law enforcement or act on behalf of the federal government.
As a result, ICE must conduct arrests in homes, workplaces, or other public spaces. Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance have indicated that the administration will prioritize those with criminal records and the 1.4 million individuals who have already received deportation orders from judges but have yet to be removed.
“There’s over 700,000 criminal aliens with criminal convictions,” Homan emphasized.
Under the Biden administration, ICE was directed to focus on apprehending undocumented immigrants convicted of serious crimes. However, with Trump in office, this directive is expected to expand to include anyone in the country illegally.
“ICE is going to do what they’re good at,” Homan affirmed.
In a prior interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump stated, “you have no choice” but to deport all individuals in the country illegally, suggesting the potential for mass deportations on a significant scale.
When campaigning for the presidency, Trump pledged to remove as many illegal immigrants as possible, placing immigration and crime at the forefront of his agenda — just as he did in his 2016 campaign. With a Republican-controlled Congress, Trump may have more power to advance these initiatives during his second term. His appointment of Stephen Miller as senior White House advisor and Homan as border czar further underscores this commitment.
Planning for these efforts is already underway, Homan revealed. “We’re starting across the country on the same day” Trump takes office, he stated.
“Twenty-four [ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations] field offices — some cover two or three states,” Homan explained. “Every field office will be given the direction that they are to begin looking for, arresting, detaining, removing those in the United States that have been arrested for a crime.”
Homan also expressed his desire to use military aircraft to transport detainees more efficiently. “I hope we get to that,” he remarked. “We could use them as a force multiplier.”
Currently, ICE collaborates with a private company that operates 13 aircraft to transport illegal immigrants both within the U.S. and back to their home countries. Homan has requested additional resources to enhance these efforts.
“I made it clear that I want their assistance,” Homan concluded.