Trump's 'border czar' refutes 'The View' claim that US citizens will be deported under mass deportation policy
'They don't know what the hell they are talking about,' former acting ICE director Tom Homan told Fox News host Sean Hannity
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President-elect Trump's newly tapped "border czar" refuted media claims that the incoming administration would be deporting U.S. citizens under Trump's mass deportation plan to secure the southern border.
On Monday's "Hannity," Fox News host Sean Hannity asked former acting ICE director Tom Homan if the new administration would be deporting legal U.S. citizens, after this claim was made on ABC's "The View" that day.
"No, exactly not," Homan said. "Look, ‘The View’ is such an island of misfit toys. They don't know what the hell they are talking about."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Homan was responding to comments from "The View" co-host Ana Navarro, who had argued that U.S. citizens would be deported under Trump's plan in order to not separate mixed immigration status households. She also claimed there were not enough criminal illegal aliens in the country to carry out a mass deportation plan.
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"The View" co-host Ana Navarro claimed legal U.S. citizens would be deported with their illegal immigrant family members under President-elect Trump's mass deportation plan. (Screenshot/ABC)
"When you talk about mass deportations people think, ‘Oh it's just going to be the criminals.’ There's not enough criminals, aliens in the federal prison system for it to be mass deportations," Navarro said on Monday's show.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"What it means is grandmothers, what it means is brothers and aunts, what it means is abuelos and abuelas, what it means is dreamers. It means family members, it means your colleagues," she continued.
Homan pushed back against Navarro's claims while on "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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There's over 1.5. million convicted criminal aliens in this country with final orders removal that we're going to be looking for. There's thousands of gang members, illegal alien gang members we'll be looking for. Now, I'm going to say, if you're in the country illegally, you shouldn't feel comfortable. Absolutely not. I won't feel comfortable if I'm in the country illegally. If I'm in some other country illegally, I'm not going to be comfortable. You should be comfortable either, because when you enter this country illegally, you have committed a crime. You are criminal and you're not off the table."
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Tom Homan refutes claims from ABCs "The View" that Trump will deport legal U.S. citizens as part of his mass deportation plan.
Homan also pledged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be empowered to go after the 425,000 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes and currently roaming free in the United States, according to a recent ICE report.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We’re going to go get them," Homan told Hannity.
"And I saw today numerous governors from sanctuary states saying they’re going to step in the way. They better get the hell out of the way. Either you help us or get the hell out of the way, because ICE is going to do their job. We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE that the Biden Administration put on them and let ICE do what they do, what they do best," he added.
"And let me say this back to ‘The View’ and Joe Biden," Homan continued. "They promised, this administration promised they’re going to concentrate on the criminal aliens. That was their priority. Secretary Mayorkas said that. I looked at the stats today, the removal of criminal aliens is down 74% from President Trump. We have more criminals here than we ever had. So we’ve got plenty of targets out there. And the men and women of this new administration are going to go look for them. They’re going to look for them in sanctuary cities. The sanctuary cities don’t want to help? Get out of the way. I’ll double the workforce in that sanctuary city. We’re going to do our job. Despite the politics, we’re doing it. So get used to it because we’re coming."
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FILE - A group claiming to be from India sit in the shade of the border wall as they wait to be picked up by Border Patrol after crossing through the border fence in the Tucson Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, Aug. 29, 2023, in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Lukeville, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York, File) (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
Homan, Trump's incoming border czar, is a former New York state police officer and former Border Patrol agent. He was tapped by the Obama administration to lead ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and was given an award for his efforts in deporting illegal immigrants.
When Trump was elected in 2016, he named Homan the acting director of the entire agency, and Homan became one of the main faces of the first Trump administration in its first years and a fierce advocate for broader deportations. President-elect Trump has promised to launch a "historic" mass deportation campaign in his second term.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.