EAGLE PASS, Texas — On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be the “border czar” visited the U.S.-Mexico border and reaffirmed his commitment to delivering on Trump’s campaign promise of mass deportations.
Tom Homan, a former police officer and immigration official, visited Eagle Pass, Texas, alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, where they served meals to members of the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers. It marked Homan’s first visit to Shelby Park, a hub for Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar state initiative aimed at securing the border.
At the event, Homan praised Abbott’s efforts in utilizing the Texas National Guard and DPS troopers for border security.
“This is a model we can take across the country,” Homan said.
Homan criticized the Biden administration’s approach to the border and applauded Trump’s border security actions during his first term. He also reiterated Trump’s promise of mass deportations.
“Let me be clear: There is going to be a mass deportation because we just finished a mass illegal immigration crisis on the border,” Homan stated, according to CBS News.
Homan further commented on Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, saying she “gets it” and has “a lot of great ideas.”
Abbott and Homan later joined Sean Hannity on Fox News to discuss their hopes for the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Abbott expressed hope that Trump would use the military to assist with deportations.
“The military is doing things like building border barriers that deny entry. And so there is a very meaningful role for the military in this situation,” Abbott said during the interview. “We don’t have enough ICE agents. We don’t have enough Border Patrol agents. We need as much manpower as we can get right now because it’s all hands on deck for us to be able to deny illegal entry and to deport all those who are here illegally.”
Trump recently stated his intention to declare a “national emergency” in order to deploy “military assets” for his mass deportation initiative.
During the Fox News interview, Hannity asked Homan how the Trump administration would respond to mayors and local officials in Democratic-run cities who may not comply with Trump’s immigration policies.
“We are going to enforce the law, period. And they are not going to stop us,” Homan responded.
Homan was specifically asked about remarks from Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who had declared his intention to protect undocumented immigrants in his city from mass deportations, even threatening to go to jail over it.
“He’s willing to go to jail. I’m willing to put him in jail,” Homan fired back.
Homan served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term.
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