President-elect Donald Trump has named former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tom Homan as his “border czar,” tasking him with executing a robust plan to secure the border and curb illegal immigration.
Trump announced Homan’s appointment on Sunday, emphasizing his commitment to addressing the border crisis—a central focus of his campaign. Homan, who started his career as a Border Patrol agent, has been a strong supporter of Trump’s proposed deportation policies, including what would be the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
“People say, ‘How are you going to remove millions?’ The answer is: One at a time,” Homan said. “No one’s off the table. If you’re in the country illegally in violation of immigration law, you are a target.”
At the Republican National Convention, Homan reiterated his intentions, telling illegal immigrants to “pack their bags,” while supporters waved signs demanding “Mass Deportation Now.” In an interview with 60 Minutes, Homan addressed concerns about separating families during deportations. When asked if it was possible to carry out mass deportations without family separations, Homan replied, “Of course there is—families can be deported together.”
Trump highlighted that Homan’s role would be to oversee the deportation plan, saying, “Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.”
Homan has championed Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required migrants to wait in Mexico while their asylum cases were processed. President Biden reversed the policy on his first day in office, allowing migrants into the U.S. and giving some court dates as far out as 2033. “The Remain in Mexico program was probably the biggest game changer in the Trump administration,” Homan stated in an interview with the Heritage Foundation. “If you’re going to claim asylum, you’re going to wait outside the country in Mexico until your hearing.”
Homan criticized the Biden administration’s approach, noting that many released migrants never return for their court hearings. “Half of them won’t show up to court, even if they lose the case, they don’t leave,” he said. “They’re just going to wait for the next amnesty or DACA.”
He also warned that amnesty policies incentivize illegal immigration, pointing to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program under President Obama as an example. “We’ve sent the message that if you hide out long enough, we will reward your illegal behavior. Family unit crossings surged after DACA was created in 2012,” Homan wrote in his book Defend the Border and Save Lives.
Additionally, Homan supports mandatory E-Verify, a program to prevent businesses from hiring undocumented workers, which he argues would reduce the economic lure of illegal immigration. “This program would save tens of millions of dollars in enforcement by making it much harder to use fake identities,” Homan wrote. In 2020, he expressed frustration with some Republicans who have resisted E-Verify. “If they truly want to stop illegal employment, they need E-Verify with some moderate changes,” he told the Center for Immigration Studies.
Homan has also backed Trump’s plan to complete a border wall. “Every place they built a border barrier, illegal immigration and drug issues dropped without exception,” he said, adding that the wall would funnel migrants to specific entry points where the Border Patrol could better address health and safety concerns.
Homan’s appointment marks a stark departure from the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policies. Since Biden’s inauguration, over 10 million migrants have crossed the border, with an estimated 1.7 million “gotaways.” Trump’s selection of immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff for policy signals his readiness to enact the stringent immigration policies he promoted on the campaign trail.
