President-elect Donald Trump announced on Sunday night that Tom Homan, his former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will serve as “border czar” in his administration.
“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.
Since leaving Trump’s first administration, Homan has been a main figure on Fox News, where he describes immigration as an “invasion.” Border states, including Texas, have labeled immigration an “invasion” to free up additional military aid and help for the deportation plans.
Homan was widely expected to join Trump’s new administration in a role related to the border.
Trump said Homan will be in charge of the “Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security”.
Homan is considered the architect of the first Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” family separation policy. Under that policy, immigration officials broke the longstanding practice of keeping migrant families together and out of detention, sending parents to immigration court and children to a separate agency.
The policy separated at least 5,000 families, many permanently, as parents were sent back and the Trump administration declined to keep track of where they ended up. As of May 2024, 1,400 families remain apart.
Trump has been wanting to bring back Homan, a Project 2025 contributor, back onto his team. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history” and use federal, state, and local law enforcement.
“They ain’t seen shit yet,” Homan said at a conference in July. “Wait until 2025”
In a “60 Minutes” interview in October, Homan said there is a way to keep families together and carry out deportations.
“Of course there is. Families can be deported together,” he said.
In March 2023, Homan defended the policy, saying “families chose to separate themselves”.
