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Meet Tom Homan: Trump’s new ‘border czar’

Vaseline November 11, 2024

Topline

President-elect Donald Trump has named former ICE director Tom Homan “border czar” as the new president plans to launch what he calls the largest deportation operation in the country’s history, a continuation of the hardline border policies Homan oversaw ceased under the first Trump administration. .

Thomas Homan during a Department of Homeland Security press conference on December 5, 2017 … (+) Washington, DC.

Getty Images

Key facts

Homan headed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the first 18 months of Trump’s administration after decades of experience at ICE and Border Patrol, and has since been an outspoken supporter of Trump’s policies and has repeatedly defended deportation efforts.

Homan has spoken repeatedly in recent months about Trump’s plan to deport large numbers of undocumented immigrants during a second term, including resuming workplace arrests as one strategy to carry out a “humane” but “necessary mass deportation operation.” feed.

He said the plan will operate under a “worst first” policy, meaning criminals and national security threats will be targeted for deportation before other immigrants.

Earlier this year, Homan predicted at the National Conservatism Conference that Trump’s return to office would also mean his return as an immigration official: “They haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until 2025.”

Homan is best known for his role in Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which immediately prosecuted anyone caught crossing the border illegally and saw parents detained while their children were taken and placed in separate custody of the Office or Refugee Resettlement were placed. .

Thousands of children were taken from their parents under the controversial policy until Trump signed an executive order ending family separations, but Homan continued to defend the practice, saying in 2018 that it was no different than an American child being separated from a parent who has committed a crime. crime within the country’s borders (Homan told 60 Minutes it is “not true” to suggest he was one of the architects of the plan, but he did sign off on it).

In 2023, Homan told guests at the Conservative Political Action Conference that he was “sick and tired” of hearing about family separations: “You know, I’m still getting sued for that, so come get me. I don’t care, right. The bottom line is that we enforced the law.”

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News Peg

Trump announced Sunday that Homan would be “in charge” of the country’s borders under the next administration. He called Homan a “border control stalwart” on his Truth Social platform and said there is “no one better at monitoring and controlling” the borders. Homan does not need to be confirmed through the Senate to start his new job. Trump has not yet said who will be his secretary of homeland security.

Important background

Homan, who has served as a Fox News contributor since retiring as ICE director during Trump’s first term, has decades of immigration enforcement experience. He served in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service as a Border Patrol Agent and Special Agent before becoming Deputy Director of Enforcement at ICE Headquarters in Washington DC. In 2013, Homan was promoted by President Barack Obama to executive assistant director for enforcement and removal operations. who later awarded him a Presidential Rank Award for Outstanding Achievement. Homan was appointed by Trump as acting ICE director in 2017 and retired from the position in June 2018. During his time in the role, Homan said undocumented immigrants “should be afraid” under the Trump administration and that “all people are on the table.” for deportation.

Crucial quote

“Thomas Homan deports people. And he’s really good at it,” wrote The Washington Post in 2016.

What to pay attention to

Last week, Homan told Fox Business that the Trump administration would resume an effort to sue sanctuary cities and revoke their federal funding. He has been an outspoken opponent of sanctuary cities and states, where local law enforcement officers are ordered not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. In 2018, Homan said politicians from those districts should be held “personally liable” for crimes committed by people living in the US illegally.

In return for

Homan has defended the tough border policies he is pursuing and fought against claims that they are cruel and costly. Last week, he said Trump’s deportation plan would cost less than the “billions of dollars we are now spending on housing, medical care, food and care for millions of (Biden’s) illegal aliens released into the United States.” In 2017, he said that he believes so strongly in the country’s immigration policy because he has seen the dangers that those seeking to immigrate illegally face if they are not deterred, taking people hostage, raping women, molesting children, killing people who do not pay their smuggling fees could pay, and double their smuggling fees after arriving in the United States.”

Surprising fact

Private prison stocks Geo Group and CoeCivic rose on Monday after Homan’s appointment was announced. Geo Group rose 6.7% as of 10 a.m. and CoreCivic rose 7.5%.

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