Trump’s Border Czar Promises Mass Arrests ‘Without Apology’ After Taking Office
Tom Homan, who is set to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar, promised to launch mass deportations immediately following the inauguration on Monday.
In a Friday night interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, Homan stated that ICE would “finally” be permitted to fulfill its duties by deporting millions of undocumented migrants.
Earlier in the week, a Wall Street Journal report revealed that approximately 200 officers were scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Tuesday for a large-scale deportation effort, coinciding with the day after the inauguration. Homan clarified that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would operate nationwide as part of this initiative.
When Watters asked Homan about reports of “a big raid all across the country,” Homan not only confirmed the deportations set for day one but emphasized that ICE was being directed to enforce immigration laws “without apology.”
“ICE is finally going to go out and do their job,” he declared. “We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens.”
Watters followed up, asking, “Am I blowing your cover when I announce that there’s going to be a big raid in Chicago on Tuesday? Or do you want people to know so maybe they can self-deport?”
“There’s going to be a big raid all across the country. Chicago is just one of many places,” Homan affirmed. “We have 24 field offices across the country. On Tuesday, you can expect ICE—ICE is finally going to go out and do their job. We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens. That’s what’s going to happen.”
The Fox host then pressed Homan on what agents had primarily been doing under the Biden administration.
“They haven’t been able to do much because Secretary Mayorkas imposed new ICE priorities,” Homan explained. “Now, get this: the secretary of Homeland Security told ICE they couldn’t arrest an illegal alien if they were only here illegally. They had to have been convicted of a serious crime or pose a national security threat. He told immigration officers not to enforce immigration law.
“Well, we’re telling ICE to enforce immigration law without apology. You’re going to prioritize the worst public safety threats first, but no one’s off the table. If they’re here illegally, they’ve got a problem,” he continued.
In a phone interview with the Washington Examiner last month, Homan shed light on the Trump administration’s plans to apprehend, detain, and deport hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States.
Homan emphasized that individuals whose only offense was entering the country illegally should be deported, even if they were simply living with or related to someone with an outstanding arrest warrant.
“In sanctuary cities, expect a lot of collateral arrests,” Homan noted. “I’m not just talking about priority criminal arrests. If we can’t apprehend the bad guy in jail, we’ll need to locate them in the community, and there may be others. We expect a lot of collateral arrests.”
President Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance have indicated their plan to prioritize arresting individuals with criminal records and the 1.4 million people who have been ordered deported by a judge but have not yet left the country.
“There are over 700,000 criminal aliens with criminal convictions,” Homan said. “ICE is going to do what they’re good at.”
Immigration and crime were central to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. While in office, he pursued these priorities through executive orders, despite facing limited support from both Republican- and Democrat-led Congresses.