WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Friday, May 16th, U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan addressed a group of Republican lawyers at a national policy conference about the status of President Donald Trump's three primary goals on illegal immigration.
According to KPVI, after taking office in January, Trump gave Homan three main objectives as his administration's border czar: secure the border, spearhead the "biggest deportation operation the county's ever seen," and to find the over 290,000 non-citizen children the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported missing in May 2024.
Homan said that there has been a 96.7 percent decrease in illegal border crossings and the drug cartels are "going broke." He told the lawyers that border crossings are at the lowest they've evert been in American history.
He said that at time during former President Joe Biden's administration, there were over 12,000 people crossing the border illegally per day, with as many as 1,800 "gotaways" — people detected entering the U.S. illegally between ports of entry but not apprehended by border patrol.
During the meeting, Homan said there had been 171 illegal border crossings so far with 37 gotaways. When discussing deportation, Homan said that the administration's philosophy is simple. Homan said, federal agents often find non-citizens together, gathering as friends, family, or involved in illicit activities, and while some may not be involved in criminal activity, if they came to the country illegally, they will be deported.
He said, "What's the quota? Arrest every one you see." He said that objections to their arrest were "(expletive)," as the discussion began to focus on the several judges that have blocked Trump's deportation efforts after lawsuits were filed arguing federal authorities were not allowing for due process.
The Trump administration also plans to ramp up ICE's presence in sanctuary cities. Homan also promised an increase in arrests around the country. Regarding sanctuary cities, Homan said, "We're going to flood the zone, increasing teams and targeting specific areas." He added that the administration would do the opposite of what they wanted because the cities "forced them there."
As for the children who have gone missing, Homan said they have found several thousand so far. The Biden administration admitted that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not have the resources to properly vet non-citizen children's sponsors — adults ICE places the children with who have some connection to them, whether family or not, who become their caretakers for a time.
Homan said the agency also admitted to not knowing where over 290,000 of these children were, as it was unable to keep up with all of their records. He added, "Some were perfectly safe and some weren't." Federal agents rescued one girl who was 14, living with two adult men, who was pregnant.
Homan credited the government's progress to the president, saying America has a president who has the courage to do what is needed to address the border crisis and who also thinks "outside the box." He said there has been a whole-of-government approach to the illegal immigration issue, something he has never seen on this scale across his career.
According to KPVI, after taking office in January, Trump gave Homan three main objectives as his administration's border czar: secure the border, spearhead the "biggest deportation operation the county's ever seen," and to find the over 290,000 non-citizen children the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported missing in May 2024.
Homan said that there has been a 96.7 percent decrease in illegal border crossings and the drug cartels are "going broke." He told the lawyers that border crossings are at the lowest they've evert been in American history.
He said that at time during former President Joe Biden's administration, there were over 12,000 people crossing the border illegally per day, with as many as 1,800 "gotaways" — people detected entering the U.S. illegally between ports of entry but not apprehended by border patrol.
During the meeting, Homan said there had been 171 illegal border crossings so far with 37 gotaways. When discussing deportation, Homan said that the administration's philosophy is simple. Homan said, federal agents often find non-citizens together, gathering as friends, family, or involved in illicit activities, and while some may not be involved in criminal activity, if they came to the country illegally, they will be deported.
He said, "What's the quota? Arrest every one you see." He said that objections to their arrest were "(expletive)," as the discussion began to focus on the several judges that have blocked Trump's deportation efforts after lawsuits were filed arguing federal authorities were not allowing for due process.
The Trump administration also plans to ramp up ICE's presence in sanctuary cities. Homan also promised an increase in arrests around the country. Regarding sanctuary cities, Homan said, "We're going to flood the zone, increasing teams and targeting specific areas." He added that the administration would do the opposite of what they wanted because the cities "forced them there."
As for the children who have gone missing, Homan said they have found several thousand so far. The Biden administration admitted that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not have the resources to properly vet non-citizen children's sponsors — adults ICE places the children with who have some connection to them, whether family or not, who become their caretakers for a time.
Homan said the agency also admitted to not knowing where over 290,000 of these children were, as it was unable to keep up with all of their records. He added, "Some were perfectly safe and some weren't." Federal agents rescued one girl who was 14, living with two adult men, who was pregnant.
Homan credited the government's progress to the president, saying America has a president who has the courage to do what is needed to address the border crisis and who also thinks "outside the box." He said there has been a whole-of-government approach to the illegal immigration issue, something he has never seen on this scale across his career.
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments