President-elect Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan warned that migrants in the country illegally aren’t “off the table” while discussing possible deportations and immigration plans in the coming second Trump administration.
Homan, Trump’s former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a Project 2025 contributor, was announced as the next person “in charge of our Nation’s Borders” in a Truth Social post by the president-elect on November 10.
“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders,” Trump wrote. “Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.”
During an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Waters on Tuesday night, Homan pledged to thwart potential attempts by Democrats to block Trump’s mass deportations, asserting that anyone who doesn’t agree with the president-elect’s plan is “obviously not very smart.”
“Out of the gate we’re concentrating on public safety threats and national security threats,” Homan said. “What politician, whether you’re a mayor or governor, is saying, ‘no, I want public safety threats to remain in my community.’ I mean, give me a break!”
“Look, if you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table,” he continued. “It’s not OK to cross this border, it’s a crime. Every illegal alien that crossed that border committed a crime. And it’s not OK for you to be in this country illegally … so, if you’re in this country illegally, you got a problem.”
Trump has promised to carry out mass deportations within 24 hours of taking office on January 20. Immigrant advocacy groups have urged President Joe Biden to muddle Trump’s plans using measures like closing immigrant detention centers and granting humanitarian parole to detained migrants before the government changes hands.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Tuesday night.
Homan, during a Fox News interview that was conducted shortly after he was named Trump’s border czar, insisted that Trump’s mass deportations would be carried out “in a humane manner.”
“It’s going to be a well-targeted, planned operation conducted by the men of ICE. The men and women of ICE do this daily. They’re good at it,” Homan told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “When we go out there, we’re going to know who we’re looking for.”
“We’ll most likely know where they’re going to be, and it’s going to be done in a humane manner,” he added. “These people will be well taken care of. It will be a humane operation, but it’s a necessary, mass deportation operation.”
In addition to undocumented migrants, Trump previously suggested that he may move to change or ignore current laws by deporting immigrants who are in the country legally, including the Haitian migrants who he claimed without evidence were abducting and eating pet cats and dogs in Ohio earlier this year.
The Washington Post reported that Trump has also said that he wishes to deport Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted him on federal felony charges of election subversion and mishandling classified documents. Smith is a U.S. citizen.
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