The incoming Trump administration is going to waste no time in cleaning up Joe Biden’s mess come January 20, and Trump’s border czar is putting illegal migrants on notice.
Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the incoming border czar, made it clear in an interview with The Daily Caller that no illegal immigrant in the United States will be off-limits. While he emphasized prioritizing the “worst first,” Homan issued a firm reminder that every illegal migrant remains a target. His remarks come amid speculation from some border hawks about whether the Trump team might be softening its stance ahead of inauguration day.
“Like the first Trump administration, we’re going to prioritize public safety threats, national security threats and fugitives,” Homan told the outlet. “Those that had due process at great taxpayer expense, were given orders of deportation, never left and became a fugitive – them too, they’re a priority.”
“The ones who pose the biggest threat to the country – they come first. The worst first,” Homan continued. “But let’s be clear, if you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table.”
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Trump is assembling a team of staunch border hawks to deliver on his pro-immigration enforcement agenda. In addition to Homan, Trump has picked South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security, Caleb Vitello to helm ICE, and Rodney Scott to oversee Customs and Border Protection. These selections signal a clear commitment to fulfilling Trump’s hardline promises on securing the nation’s borders and enforcing immigration laws.
The president-elect has pledged a slate of hawkish border policies, such as a return of the Remain in Mexico program, construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, the end of birthright citizenship for those born to illegal migrant parents and, perhaps most notably, a vow to conduct the largest deportation operation in the country’s history. While estimates vary, organizations like the Federation for American Immigration Reform calculate that around 17 million illegal migrants are in the U.S., meaning the Trump administration would have its hands full removing just a fraction of this population.
Homan and others within Trump’s circle have repeatedly stated that their deportation operation would run on a “worst first” policy, giving priority to convicted criminals, gangbangers and others that pose a public safety threat to the country. While such a policy ostensibly reflects the basic logistical and financial constraints of mass enforcement efforts, the mantra had sparked some concern by border hawk advocates that the upcoming administration is watering down its lauded goal.
The Biden administration inherited the most secure southern border in history, but promptly laid out the welcome mat for illegal to come into this country in record number that even Barack Obama’s former DHS secretary called “crisis levels.” It wasn’t until polling showed that immigration was a top concern of the voters that the the administration switched gears, and started getting more hawkish on the border, even going so far as to tout deportation numbers. But, Homan pointed out that most deportations were of individuals apprehended by Border Patrol, not ICE arrests in the interior.
Homan predicts that deportation efforts will surge in the new Trump administration.
“We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them do what they do best,” Homan declared.