Who Is Tom Homan, Trump's Hawkish 'Border Czar'? Old Videos Of His Stance On Deportations Go Viral

Last Updated:November 11, 2024, 12:04 IST

Tom Homan, the former ICE director under Trump 1.0, has been outspoken on deporting millions of undocumented immigrants in the US.

Tom Homan oversaw an immigration policy during Trump 1.0 that separated families of undocumented migrants. (Reuters)

US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday appointed former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director as his “Border Czar", expressing confidence in his ability to deport “illegal aliens back to their country of origin".

Trump said that Homan would be in charge of the US Borders and that “there is nobody better at controlling our borders" than him. “Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job," the President-elect said on his Truth Social platform.

Homan was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border as immigration was a cornerstone of Trump’s 2024 campaign, where he pledged to launch the largest deportation operation in the country’s history. This appointment does not require a Senate confirmation.

Elon Musk, who has become a key ally of Trump, congratulated Homan on being given the responsibility for enforcing US borders. Homan is also a contender for Secretary of Homeland Security.

Who Is Tom Homan?

Thomas D. Homan was a notable figure as the acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Trump’s previous administration, gaining recognition for his strong advocacy of strict immigration enforcement before retiring in 2018. He was outspoken about deporting undocumented immigrants and oversaw a system that placed a record number of immigrant children in US custody, according to CNN.

Homan stood by a “zero tolerance" immigration system, where family members were separated during detention and deportation proceedings. In a recent interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes," Homan argued that “families could be deported together" when asked about Trump’s pledge to carry about mass deportations immediately upon entering office, CNN reported.

However, he said the efforts to tackle illegal immigration would be targeted, though exact plans and the cost remain to be seen. “It’s not going to be a mass sweep of neighbourhoods. It’s not going to be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous," he said.

Homan often took the microphone at White House briefings to defend his agents’ arrests of undocumented immigrants, to call for more robust enforcement and to attack “sanctuary city" policies. His statement to Congress that undocumented immigrants “should be afraid" also gained widespread attention.

Homan Was A Contributor To ‘Project 2025’

Homan was a key contributor to Project 2025, a 900-page blueprint drafted by the conservative Heritage Foundation which gained significant backlash over some of its more radical reforms. Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from the campaign.

Project 2025 proposes mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants, the same as Trump and Homan. The former ICE officer also addressed the Republican Convention in July, highlighting his growing influence in Trump’s camp.

“I got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden has released into our country in violation of federal law: You better start packing now," Homan said from the stage in Milwaukee. “You’re damn right."

“No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder… Trump comes back in January, I’ll be on his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen," Homan said at the Conservatism Conference in July. However, he said the ICE would conduct the deportations in a “humane manner" and the military won’t round up immigrants illegally.

“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," he said. “When we go out there, we’re going to know who we’re looking for. We most likely know where they’re going to be, and it’s going to be done in a humane manner."

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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