Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump’s newly appointed border czar, isn’t afraid to engage in a heated debate over some of the administration’s most controversial border policies.
A recently surfaced viral clip shows Homan and Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a sharp argument during a 2019 Congressional hearing.
Ocasio-Cortez pressed Homan on his role in recommending the separation of illegal immigrants and children as part of a “zero tolerance” approach to border enforcement.
Homan, the former head of ICE, told her that even U.S. citizens are separated from their children if they commit crimes that could affect them, such as drunk driving or domestic violence.
When Ocasio-Cortez protested that seeking asylum is perfectly legal, Homan said illegal border crossers cannot seek asylum after being apprehended.
Thomas Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been selected by newly elected President Donald Trump to serve as his border czar.
“If you want to seek asylum, go to a port of entry and do it the legal way,” Homan said. “The attorney general of the United States has made that clear.”
The announcement of Trump’s decision sparked celebration among supporters of the president-elect on social media
“President Trump just put this man, Tom Homan, in charge of the deportations,” wrote conservative Turning Point activist Charlie Kirk, sharing the clip of Homan’s response to Ocasio-Cortez and adding fire emojis.
Other clips from Homan’s October interview with CBS News 60 Minutes resurfaced.
“Is there a way to carry out mass deportations without separating families?” asks journalist Cecilia Vega in the interview.
Tom Homan and President Delect Donald Trump on the campaign trail
Thomas Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
‘Of course it is. Families can be deported together,” Homan responds simply.
Homan also spoke with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday about Trump’s deportation plan, just hours before Trump announced his nomination.
“It will be a targeted planned operation, carried out by ICE… the men and women of ICE do this every day, they are good at it,” he said.
Homan also dismissed fears of “concentration camps” set up by the government to deport millions of illegal immigrants.
‘These people are well taken care of. It will be a humane operation, but it is a necessary mass deportation operation,” he said.
Less than 24 hours after Trump’s announcement of Homan, rumors swirled that he would appoint top immigration adviser Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy.
It further shows that his government is focus on an unprecedented crackdown on borders.
Less than 24 hours after Trump’s announcement about Homan, rumors swirled that he would appoint top immigration adviser Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy.
Miller was the architect of Trump’s immigration plan during his first term and will be on the front lines of the newly elected president’s plan to carry out the largest mass deportation in history.
Miller has previously said that a second Trump administration would see a tenfold increase in the number of deported migrants.
The news triggers Democrats, including CNN pundit Tara Setmayer, who called Miller a “despicable human being” shortly after the pick was announced.