Tom Homan, the incoming “border czar” under President-elect Donald Trump, has revealed plans to deport undocumented immigrants on a large scale, provided he receives funding from Congress. In an interview with CNN, Homan explained that he will need a minimum of 100,000 detention beds, more than double the current 40,000, as well as additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to carry out the president-elect’s mass deportation plans.
Homan said he isn’t yet sure how much funding Trump’s administration will seek from the Republican-led House and Senate, but noted that he needs it to implement his plans. He also plans to ask the military for help transporting migrants, seeing them as a “force multiplier” in carrying out immigration enforcement.
Trump had previously announced that Homan would be in charge of the country’s borders, including the southern and northern borders, maritime, and aviation security. Homan is still working on the Trump administration’s plan to carry out the president-elect’s deportation promises, which he says will prioritize deporting criminals, gang members, and fugitives.
Homan’s plans also include removing undocumented parents whose children are U.S. citizens, with the decision of what happens to those children left up to the parents. He also plans to bring back mass worksite immigration raids, which were ended by President Joe Biden.
Homan’s plans have been criticized by Democratic-led cities that have limited or prohibited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, which he believes will limit ICE’s ability to deport criminals and force agents into neighborhoods where they will arrest more undocumented immigrants.
When asked about the scale of his deportation plans, Homan said he doesn’t have a specific number of undocumented immigrants he hopes to deport by the end of Trump’s next four years in office, but rather aims to “arrest as many people as we can” with the resources available.