Homan was widely expected to be offered such a position following Trump’s pledge to launch the largest deportation operation in US history.
US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that that Tom Homan, his former acting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will serve as the “border czar” in his incoming administration.
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“I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration, in charge of our Nation’s Borders," he wrote late Sunday on Truth Social, his social media platform.
In addition to overseeing the southern and northern borders and “maritime, and aviation security,” Trump said Homan “will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin,” a central part of the President-elect's agenda.
He says he has “no doubt” Homan “will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job.”
Homna's role does not require Senate confirmation.
In an interview with US media, Homan said the military would not be rounding up and arresting immigrants illegally, and that ICE would move to implement Trump's plans in a “humane manner.”
“It’s going to be a well-targeted, planned operation conducted by the men of ICE. The men and women of ICE do this daily. They’re good at it,” he said. “When we go out there, we’re going to know who we’re looking for. We most likely know where they’re going to be, and it’s going to be done in a humane manner."
Earlier this year at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, Homan expressed frustration at the news coverage of a mass deportation operation.
“Wait until 2025,” he said, adding that, while he thinks the government needed to prioritise national security threats, “no one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.”
He also said: “you’ve got my word. Trump comes back in January, I’ll be in his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”