The president-elect announced he will name Tom Homan, the former acting head of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, as a “border czar” with oversight over immigration, maritime and aviation security.
“I have known Tom for a long time, and there is no one better at policing and controlling our borders,” Trump said in a social media post this Sunday (10). “Likewise, Tom Homan will be responsible for all deportations of illegal immigrants back to their home country.”
Homan was the public face of Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies during his first term, which broke with the practice of keeping families together during detention and deportation proceedings. As a result, thousands of undocumented migrant children have been separated from family members, sparking widespread backlash.
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In a recent interview with CBS NewsHoman downplayed the possibility of similar impacts as Trump’s plans for the mass deportation of undocumented migrants begin to come to fruition, asserting that “families could be deported together.”
“It will not be a mass sweep of neighborhoods. It will not be the construction of concentration camps. I read all of this. It’s ridiculous,” Homan said.
Trump and his transition team have not outlined how they intend to carry out the effort, which will likely require substantial funding from Congress and cooperation from countries to accept returning migrants. However, allies said Trump will move quickly to reverse President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, using executive authorities to reduce pathways for migrants to seek asylum.
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Homan’s selection also suggests that participation in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 will not prevent people from being appointed to positions in the Trump administration. Homan had contributed to the policy design, which the president-elect tried to distance himself from during the campaign.
Trump is expected to use czar-like positions to concentrate power among loyalists in the White House, giving appointees broad discretion over government departments and agencies to implement his agenda. White House roles do not require Senate confirmation.
The “border czar” title also comes after Trump and other Republicans derisively applied that description to Vice President Kamala Harris during the campaign, saying she failed in her efforts to oversee a portfolio that addresses the root causes of migration from Central America.
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