President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar has a “clear message” for sanctuary cities bucking up against the incoming administration’s toughened border stance – get on board or get out of the way.
The former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan joined “Sunday Morning Futures” this week, where he laid out the incoming administration’s prospective plan to cut back on illegal migrant crime and make communities safer across the U.S., despite blue city pushback.
“You’ve got San Diego writing legislation. You’ve got Colorado and other states and other cities saying they’re going to prevent us doing what I’m doing. I want to send a clear message. If you let us in the jail, we can arrest the bad guy in the jail and in the safety and security of the jail. One officer could do that, but when you release a public safety threat back in the community, you put the community at risk. You put my officers at risk. You put the alien at risk,” he told host Maria Bartiromo.
FORMER ICE DIRECTOR TOM HOMAN ‘HONORED’ TO BE APPOINTED TRUMP’S BORDER CZAR: ‘WE HAVE TO FIX IT’
Thomas Homan, then-Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), speaks during a Department of Homeland Security press conference to announce end-of-year numbers regarding immigration enforcement, border security and national security, December 5, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“Here’s what’s going to happen – you release that guy in the community, I’m going to send an entire team to go look for the guy in your community. And what’s going to happen? We’ll find that guy. And when we find that guy, there’s probably going to be others that are not a priority. However, if they’re in the country illegally, they’ll be arrested, too, because we’re not going to tell an immigration officer like this [Biden] administration did, that you’re going to turn your back on an illegal immigrant. When you’re an immigration officer, you have an oath to uphold, so you are forcing us into community in large numbers where other non-priority aliens will be arrested.
“That’s the exact result you don’t want, so let us in the jail. It’s safer for everybody.”
Homan, who has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s border policies, has vowed to toughen up security and engage in mass deportation, adhering closely to rhetoric from Trump.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THOMAS HOMAN, TRUMP’S INCOMING ‘BORDER CZAR’
President-elect Donald Trump has consistently taken a tough stance on border security. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Blue city officials are less-than-enthusiastic about the mass deportation plan and are fighting back in different ways. Boston’s city council voted unanimously to double down on obstructing Trump’s plans for mass deportations. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, all Democrats, are among a league of others pushing back.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, on the contrary, has expressed his willingness to sit down with Homan to discuss ways to make the streets of the Big Apple safer for all.
The two are slated to meet on Thursday. Homan said on that note, “I’m not surprised that Mayor Adams is coming to the table, because I think his No. 1 responsibility is protection of his communities. I’m shocked other mayors and other governors want to put roadblocks up. I can’t believe any elected official does not want to remove public safety threats from their communities, but we’re going to do it with them or without them. We’re going to get this done.”