Trump Picks Former Immigration Chief Homan as ‘Border Czar’
(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump said he will install Tom Homan, the former acting head of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, as a “border czar” with oversight of immigration, maritime and aviation security.
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“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders,” Trump said in a social media post Sunday. “Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.”
Homan was the public face of Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies during his first term, which broke with the practice of keeping families together during detention and deportation proceedings. As a result, thousands of undocumented migrant children were separated from family members, drawing widespread backlash.
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In his first interview since being announced, Homan defended Trump’s policies as common sense and merely a way to enforce immigration laws.
“I don’t care what people think about me. Especially on the left,” he told Fox and Friends Monday morning. “Border security is national security. We should all be on the same side of that.”
Homan also had a warning for local law enforcement, especially in sanctuary cities: “If you’re not going to help us, get the hell out of the way.”
“We’re going to do the job, without you or with you,” he said.
Homan had a long career in federal government and served under former President Barack Obama at ICE, where he oversaw deportations. He was the executive associate director of the agency for almost four years before Trump appointed him acting director in 2017.
Trump and his transition team have not outlined how they plan to accomplish the mass deportation effort, which will likely require substantial funding from Congress and the cooperation of countries to accept returning migrants. Still, allies have said Trump will move quickly to reverse the immigration policies of President Joe Biden, using executive authorities to scale back pathways for migrants to apply for asylum.
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The choice of Homan also suggests that participation in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 won’t prevent people from getting appointed to jobs in Trump’s administration. Homan had contributed to the policy project, which the president-elect had sought to distance himself from on the campaign trail.
Trump is expected to use czar-like positions to concentrate power among loyalists in the White House, giving appointees broad discretion over government departments and agencies to implement his agenda. White House roles don’t require Senate confirmation.
The “border czar” title also comes after Trump and other Republicans derisively applied that description to Vice President Kamala Harris during the campaign, saying she failed in her efforts to oversee a portfolio addressing the root causes of migration from Central America.
Homan on Monday also took a swipe at Harris.
“I’m gonna look like a genius. Because if you follow failure, you can’t help but succeed,” he said.
(Updates with background on Homan in 8th paragraph.)
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