The Border Czar

A journalist once asked Tom Homan if there was a way to deport people without separating families. “Of course there is,” he said. “Families can be deported together.”

Tom Homan was a longtime Border Patrol agent and became President Donald Trump’s acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 2017 to 2018. Now, President Trump says Mr. Homan will be “border czar.”

This is not an official position, but Mr. Trump spelled out the role.

[T]here is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders. Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom.

It is unclear whether Mr. Homan will need Senate confirmation.

Mr. Homan was President Barack Obama’s executive associate director of enforcement and removal. He was honored for that work, receiving the Presidential Rank Award in 2015. A 2016 Washington Post story had rave reviews from colleagues. “Thomas Homan deports people,” it began. “And he’s really good at it.”

Despite his comment that families could be deported “together,” Mr. Homan is supposedly one of those most responsible for “family separation.” This is a propaganda term; it is “family separation” when criminals are arrested and their children aren’t thrown into a cell with them. Illegal immigration shouldn’t be different, but media and Democrats called this uniquely vile.

A 2022 Atlantic story about Mr. Homan was scathing. It describes a program called Operation Streamline in which adults who violated immigration law were prosecuted, not simply processed and released:

Homan said he wanted to apply the perceived lessons of Operation Streamline to migrant families, by prosecuting parents who crossed the border illegally with their children. Though many of these families came to the U.S. seeking asylum, under this new model they would be treated as criminals. Homan explained that the parents would be taken into federal criminal custody, just like with Operation Streamline — only this time the process would trigger an automatic family separation. . . .

This makes Tom Homan the father of what might be the Trump administration’s most controversial policy. “Most parents don’t want to be separated,” Homan told me recently. “I’d be lying to you if I didn’t think that would have an effect.”

Mr. Homan says he was saving lives: “The goal was to stop the madness, stop the death, stop the rape, stop the children dying, stop the cartels doing what they’re doing.”

In 2019, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) accused Mr. Homan of recommending “family separation,” to which he replied that he recommended “zero tolerance.” He argued that anyone who breaks the law is “separated” from his family. “[It’s] the same as it is with every U.S. citizen parent [who] gets arrested when they’re with a child. If I get arrested for [DUI] and I have a young child in the car, I’m going to be separated.” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez argued that those seeking asylum are not committing any crimes, but Mr. Homan shot back that they are if they are not doing it through a port of entry “it’s Violation 8, United States Code 1325.”

Mr. Homan is one of the contributors to Project 2025, the conservative “Mandate for Leadership” and policy program. It argues that illegal immigration should be “ended, not mitigated” and the border “sealed, not reprioritized.” Project 2025 also argues for abolishing DHS and redistributing its functions to different agencies, and for establishing a new department to control the border. Mr. Trump has not commented on such a sweeping reorganization.

Nonetheless, Mr. Homan has mentioned policies Mr. Trump presumably does support. After the election, he said that “worksite operations have to happen,” meaning that businesses that hire illegals can expect federal agents. He argued this was a humanitarian policy because “most victims of sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking” are found at worksites.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Colorado Governor Jared Polis are discussing a blue-state coalition called “Governors Safeguarding Democracy” to resist deportation. Governor Pritzker said that Illinois police would not help with raids nor would he allow use of the National Guard. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also vowed resistance and claimed President Trump’s “attack” on illegal immigrants also was against “black families” — and that it may be anti-Semitic.

Mr. Homan has little patience with so-called sanctuary cities: “If you’re not going to help us, get the hell out of our way. . . . [W]e may have to double the number of agents we send. We’re going to do the job with or without you.” He called sanctuary cities “sanctuaries for criminals.” New York City police officers described as “fed up” with the migrant crime problem are praising his appointment.

Mr. Homan also is encouraging “self-deportation,” though only of those who will not be booted right away. “Criminals and gang members get no grace period,” he said. “While we’re out prioritizing the public safety threats and national security threats, if you want to self-deport, you should self-deport, because, again, we know who you are, and we’re going to come and find you.” As for criminals, “You came to this country illegally, which is a crime. You committed crimes against United States citizens, some heinous crimes. You get no grace period. So we’re coming for you.” Mr. Homan has denied reports that the Trump Administration would deport legal immigrants or citizens. It’s unclear why anyone would think it would.

Under Operation Wetback, most illegals left after the initial shock of enforcement. The Trump Administration may be hoping for a similar effect so it can avoid tear-jerking stories on television. Mr. Homan may be strong enough to withstand a media offensive, but what Secretary-Designate of Homeland Security Kristi Noem can endure remains unknown.

Mr. Homan has been loyal to Donald Trump. “He created the most secure border in our history,” Mr. Homan said of the President at the 2024 RNC. “And guess what? He’s gonna do it again.” He said that of the six presidents he served over the course of his 34-year career, only President Trump secured the border, despite promises from all the rest. He warned drug cartels in Mexico that President Trump is “going to wipe you from the face of the Earth.” In July, Mr. Homan said there will be no more “catch and release” and that a “strong” President Trump will force reluctant countries to take their citizens back.

The Huffington Post said that Tom Homan went to a “white supremacist event,” referring to AFPAC 2022, hosted by Nick Fuentes. Mr. Homan left the event without speaking and claimed he did not know what the group was about. “I’m not saying that this is a bad group,” he said. He simply “didn’t know.”

WIRED is upset about an event where Mr. Homan did speak, the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, where he pulled no punches: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the first administration in the history of this nation who unsecured a border on purpose. This isn’t an accident, this isn’t incompetence, this is by design, folks . . . . They obviously perceive a future political advantage, thinking maybe they are future Democratic voters.” Mr. Homan called this the “great white replacement theory”: “These millions of people that are released into sanctuary cities across this country who will be counted in the next census, which means what? More seats in the House for the Dems. They’ll own the House forever. This is what they want. They sold this country out for future political power. And to me, that’s treasonous. There’s no other excuse for it.”

If that was the plan, it didn’t work. Tom Homan has the experience and the credibility to carry out mass deportations. The Administration will begin with the easiest cases: gang members and those already under deportation orders. The Trump White House may count on migrants getting the message and leaving. What if they don’t? Only then will we see what Tom Homan is made of — and if other officials, including the President, will back him up. For now, he is one of President Trump’s most promising personnel choices.