Incoming border czar Tom Homan got into a tense exchange with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about newly elected President Donald Trump’s deportation plans, which he said will begin “on day one.”
Collins, 32, pressed Homan, 63, in an interview Wednesday night about his plans to possibly deport migrant parents whose children have U.S. citizenship, questioning whether the families will be separated.
Homan, the former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term, responded that this would be up to the parents.
But he made clear what Trump’s policies will be on January 20, 2025.
“If you are in the country illegally and you have orders for deportation, we are going to arrest you, detain you and remove you,” he responded.
“Having a child in this country does not mean you are immune from our laws.”
He argued that if the parents were found to be in the country illegally, had a court order for their removal and evaded deportation, they should be held accountable in accordance with current laws.
Allowing parents to stay because their children were born in the U.S. means that “the court order no longer means anything,” Homan reasoned.
“What kind of message are we sending to the whole world?” he fired back at Collins.
CNN host Kaitlan Collins interviewed President-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday about the details of the Republican’s deportation plans.
Migrants approach a fence guarded by the Texas National Guard in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on December 18, 2024, as they attempt to enter the United States to seek asylum on International Migrant Day
A group of migrants wait at a border point in Juarez City, Chihuahua, Mexico, December 18, 2024. On International Migrants Day, the Texas National Guard fired pepper balls to disperse a group of more than 150 migrants, mostly from Central and South America. who were tricked on social networks into thinking they would be allowed to pass through the border wall in northern Mexico
The CNN host then inquired about what happens to US-born children when their parents are deported.
“Would you place the child in a foster home if there is no family member there?” she asked.
The incoming border czar responded, “We do not deport American citizens. But they put themselves in the position; we didn’t do that.’
“A majority in America thinks this is the right thing to do. A large majority of Americans believe threats to public safety are illegal here and should be removed.”
Asked how many people he is willing to remove, Homan said it depends on how much money Congress approves for deportation operations and the agency’s job to carry them out.
“It all depends on the funding I get from the Hill,” he said. “I don’t know what the budget is.”
Later, Collins asked him how many deportations he would like to accomplish in his first year.
Homan said he wants to arrest as many people as possible with the resources they have, adding that there are millions of fugitives in the U.S. awaiting arrest.
Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan and Tucker Carlson have proposed a slew of ‘rich, white, liberal neighborhoods’ where migrants could be sent
More than 10.5 million migrants have been found entering the U.S. illegally since 2021, according to federal data
“We want to arrest as many people as possible who are in the country illegally,” he said. “We want to arrest every criminal, every gang member… If you’re here illegally, you’re not off the table.”
Earlier this week, Homan spoke with Tucker Carlson about the possibility of sending migrants to “rich, white” neighborhoods.
Carlson asked the new border czar on his X show Wednesday night: “Is it even possible to move millions of Haitians into rich, white, liberal neighborhoods?”
“The people who did this are rich, white liberals in the United States who hate themselves and the country and to punish it they illegally invited all these people from failed countries, but they can’t bear the idea of being anywhere near these people live because they are “racist,” said Carlson.
Homan responded, “We absolutely could. Martha’s Vineyard did it!’
Martha’s Vineyard in particular was one of several liberal enclaves where migrants were bused by Republican governors in an effort to ease the burden of their arrival on their states, a point Homan celebrated.