President-elect Donald Trump announced over the weekend that Thomas Homan, a senior immigration official in his first administration, will serve as “border czar,” overseeing border enforcement along with maritime and aviation security.
Trump announced Homan’s new role in a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, though he shared few additional details about Homan’s responsibilities.
“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders,” Trump wrote in the post.
On the campaign trail, Trump made hard-line border and immigration policies a central point of his pitch to voters. However, it remains unclear how this will take shape or what it will mean for immigrants in the United States.
Homan, 62, responded to concerns that American citizens would be removed under planned mass deportation operations, speaking Monday with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“President Trump has made it clear we will prioritize public safety threats and national security threats first. And that’s what the focus should be,” he said.
Here’s what you need to know about President-elect Trump’s appointment of Thomas Homan as “border czar.”
Who is Thomas Homan?
A former police officer in New York, Homan began his federal career in 1984 as a U.S. Border Patrol agent stationed in the San Diego border sector. He joined the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the predecessor of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services, in 1988 as a special agent based in Phoenix. He served in various roles at the agency for nearly two decades.
Upon the creation of ICE in 2003, Homan served in various leadership roles pertaining to investigations and coordination with other law enforcement agencies. He accepted the position of ICE’s assistant director for enforcement during the Obama administration and he helped develop strategies, methods and tools to aid the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Homan served as the executive associate director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations before being appointed by Trump as acting director of ICE.
An outspoken supporter of Trump, Homan consistently has defended the immigration policies of Trump’s first term.
“I’ve got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that (President) Joe Biden has released into our country,” Homan said in July at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “You better start packing now.”
Homan championed the hard-line “zero-tolerance” policy, which led to family separations at the Southwestern border.
What did Thomas Homan do in Trump’s first administration?
Homan served as the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during President-elect Trump’s first administration. Homan was one of Trump’s earliest appointments, joining in January 2017.
As acting ICE director, Homan increased worksite raids and arrests of undocumented immigrants after a presidential memorandum from Trump that lifted Obama-era directives on ICE’s enforcement priorities.
During the Trump administration’s first 100 days, ICE arrested more than 40,000 immigrants, including 1,770 in Arizona. A third of the arrests in Arizona had no criminal record, according to statistics released by ICE to The Arizona Republic.
Immigrant-rights advocates criticized Homan for his aggressive enforcement of immigration law. In July 2017, U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and other members of Congress sent a letter to ICE calling for more data transparency on the agency’s facilities and detainees.
Homan resigned from his role in February 2018 and said at the time that he would retire. He called his decision to retire “bittersweet.”
What has Thomas Homan done since leaving Trump’s first administration?
Since leaving his position, Homan has served as a Fox News contributor and joined the Heritage Foundation in 2022 as a visiting fellow, where he has authored several commentary pieces and serves as a foundation fellow.
His pieces have called for the impeachment of current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, described the bipartisan border bill as a “backroom political ploy” and called for more congressional oversight on Biden’s border and immigration policies.
He is also listed as a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s controversial blueprint, “Project 2025,” developed in anticipation of Trump’s potential reelection. The president-elect distanced himself from the agenda on the campaign trail.
Homan also founded Border 911 Foundation Inc., which says it fights against “a border invasion” by educating “the American people about the facts of a non-secure border.” The group organized the “Defend America Rally” event held in Scottsdale in May 2023, where Homan and 2024 Republican Senate nominee Kari Lake spoke to supporters.
Homan has done several television spots, including an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” last month, where he was asked about deportations.
“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,” Homan 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.”
Homan was also asked whether mass deportations could be done without separating families.
“Of course there is,” he said. “Families can be deported together.”
What does ‘border czar’ mean?
Republicans frequently criticized Vice President Kamala Harris in the recently concluded presidential race for her role in the Biden administration’s immigration policies, often labeling her as the administration’s “border czar.” The title reflects her involvement in diplomatic efforts to address migration with officials from Mexico and Central American countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
Biden tasked Harris with tackling the root causes of migration, focusing on factors that drive people to leave their home countries for the United States.
“I’ve asked her … to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border,” Biden said in March 2021.
Trump’s designation of “border czar” for Thomas Homan is not an official title within the Department of Homeland Security, creating uncertainty about Homan’s exact responsibilities. However, the position will seemingly focus on law enforcement, according to Trump’s post.
“Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin,” Trump wrote.
What to know:Donald Trump made gains in all four of Arizona’s border counties
Have any news tips or story ideas about the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona? Reach the reporter at rromeroruiz@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @raphaeldelag.
