Tom Homan, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar, pledged to begin mass deportations immediately following the inauguration on Monday.
During an interview with Fox News anchor Jesse Watters on Friday night, Homan declared that ICE would “finally” be allowed to carry out its responsibilities by deporting millions of undocumented migrants.
Earlier this week, a Wall Street Journal report indicated that roughly 200 officers are set to arrive in Chicago on Tuesday for a large-scale deportation operation—taking place just a day after the inauguration. But he also said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would be operating across the country.
Watters asked Homan about reports claiming “there’s going to be a big raid all across the country.”
Homan not only vowed deportations on day one but that ICE is being told to enforce immigration law “without apology.”
“ICE is finally going to go out and do their job,’ he said. “We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens.”
Watters asked, “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 maybe they can self-deport?”
“There’s going to be a big raid all across the country. Chicago is just one of many places. We got 24 field offices across the country. On Tuesday, you’re going 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,” Homan pledged.
The Fox host then asked Homan what agents have mostly been doing over the past four years of the Biden-Harris regime.
“They haven’t been able to do much because Secretary Mayorkas had new ICE priorities. Get this. Now, the secretary of Homeland Security has told ICE you can’t arrest an illegal alien if he’s just here illegally,” Homan responded. “He’s got to be convicted of a serious crime or be a national security threat. He told immigration officers not to enforce immigration law.
“Well, we’re telling ICE you’re going to enforce immigration law without apology. You’re going to concentrate the worst for public safety threats first, but no one’s off the table. If they’re in the country illegally, they’ve got a problem,” he added.
During a phone interview with the Washington Examiner last month, Homan provided some insight into how the Trump administration will arrest, detain, and deport hundreds of thousands or even millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States.
Homan said that immigrants whose only crime was coming into the country illegally should be sent back to their home country, even if they are just living with or related to someone who has an arrest warrant out for them.
“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 added.
Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance have said they will start by arresting people with criminal records and the 1.4 million people who have been told by a judge to be deported but have not been sent back to their home country.
“There’s over 700,000 criminal aliens with criminal convictions,” Homan told the outlet. “ICE is going to do what they’re good at.”
While running for president in 2016, Trump made immigration and crime major issues. He kept his promise insofar as he was able to via executive orders, as he did not get much help from a Republican and then Democrat-controlled Congress.