President-elect Donald Trump has appointed former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan to oversee the protection of all U.S. borders, a role which presents three main priorities.
Homan is expected to be laser-focused on the southern frontier and its related issues: border security, mass deportations, and cracking down on cartels.
His role is on the front line of immigration policy, and so could be key to the success or failure of Trump's administration. Promises on immigration were at the forefront of Trump's successful bid for the White House over Vice President Kamala Harris, and helped to propel him to a stunning comeback victory.
Trump, who won the popular vote for the first time in three attempts, swept all seven key battleground states in his decisive November 5 presidential election victory, bringing his total Electoral College count to 312.
"I am pleased to announce that the former ICE Director and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration in charge of our nation's borders ("The Border Czar"), including, but not limited to the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all maritime, and aviation security," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"I've known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our borders. Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all deportations of illegal aliens back to their country of origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long-awaited for, job."
This role won't require confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Newsweek has reached out to Homan via an online contact form, as well as as Trump's campaign and ICE.
Who is Tom Homan?
Homan, who served as the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement between 2017 and 2018, is considered one of the key architects behind the controversial family separation policy.
He is known for his strong stance on immigration enforcement, being a vocal advocate for strict border security measures, and he frequently defended the Trump administration's policies, including those focused on deportations, detentions, and controversial practices like family separations at the border.
Before his time as acting director, Homan had a long career in law enforcement, spending over 30 years working on immigration and border security issues. He began with the U.S. Border Patrol in 1984 and eventually moved to leadership roles within ICE, focusing on enforcement and removal operations.
His tenure at ICE and his public statements often made him a polarizing figure, drawing both support from those favoring strict immigration policies and criticism from advocates for immigrant rights.
Since leaving government, Homan has been a prominent voice in immigration debates, often appearing on news networks, participating in public forums, and consulting on immigration policy issues. He's a regular commentator, particularly on conservative media outlets, where he advocates for border security reforms and critiques current immigration policies.
Homan has also worked for The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025. He is listed as a contributor to the policy document, which proposes mass detention and deportation of undocumented or illegal immigrants.
Homan said at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee earlier this year that he had "a message for the millions of illegal aliens who Joe Biden allowed to enter the country in violation of federal law—start packing, because you're going home."
Mass Deportations
Mass deportation is a core policy of the GOP's platform for 2024, with Trump promising millions would be removed from the country, starting the moment he returned to office.
"I make this pledge and vow to you, November 5, 2024, will be liberation day in America," Trump told supporters on Oct. 11, as he branded the mass-deportation program "Operation Aurora" after the Colorado City, which has faced issues with the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Trump has also repeatedly pledged to shut down the CBP One app on his first day in office. "The border will be sealed. The invasion will be stopped. The migrant flights will end, and Kamala's app for illegals will be shut down immediately, within 24 hours," he said of his first day in office.
The CBP One app, launched by the CBP, serves as a digital tool intended to streamline and manage aspects of border entry and asylum processes at the U.S.-Mexico border. Designed as a response to the surge in border crossings, the app allows migrants to schedule appointments to present themselves at ports of entry, helping manage large crowds and reducing wait times while migrants await processing.
And Homan appears to be totally on message with the President-elect in this area, telling a panel on immigration policy in July: "Trump comes back in January; I'll be on his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen."
Trump's proposed mass deportation plan could lead to a return of widespread family separations, with an estimated one in three Latinos at risk of being targeted, according to an immigration and criminal justice advocacy group.
Latino leaders warned that the hard-line policy would result in families "being ripped apart," raising concerns about the human impact and social consequences of such an extensive crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Nearly 20 million people could be directly affected.
Homan also spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he said he did not care about the family separation controversy.
"I'm sick and tired of hearing about the family separation," Homan said. "I'm still being sued over that." He added, "I don't give a s***, right? Bottom line is, we enforced the law."
Homan was also reported to have accepted an invitation to a white nationalist conference hosted by Nick Fuentes, the Holocaust denier and Hitler admirer who dined with Trump and Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.
When pressed on if there is a way to conduct a mass deportation plan without family separation, Tom Homan said, "Of course there is. Families can be deported together."
Family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border occurs when children are taken from their parents or guardians after crossing into the U.S. illegally. This was intensified under the Trump administration's 2018 "zero tolerance" policy, which criminally prosecuted adults unlawfully crossing the border. Since children cannot legally remain in criminal detention with adults, they were classified as "unaccompanied minors" and sent to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under the Department of Health and Human Services.
Under this policy, adults were held in separate facilities to await legal proceedings, while children were placed in ORR shelters or temporary facilities. The practice faced significant logistic issues, making family reunification difficult, especially when parents were deported without their children. In response to public backlash, efforts to reunify families were launched, although challenges remain due to inadequate records and coordination difficulties between agencies.
Border Security
Homan will be in charge of "the southern border, the northern border, all maritime, and aviation security," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Homan supports Trump's border wall. He believes that uncontrolled immigration harms communities by increasing crime, drug trafficking, and financial strain on the U.S.
He argues that a strong physical barrier would significantly reduce illegal immigration and help prevent the smuggling of drugs and people, which he describes as essential for national security and public safety. And he would appear to have the support of Trump, who said at a rally in Arizona last month that he would urge Congress to increase the salaries of Customs and Border Protection agents and hire thousands of new agents.
The policy would include hiring 10,000 new individuals, a 10 percent raise for existing agents and $10,000 in retention and signing bonuses.
This would give Homan some of the resources to help tackle human trafficking and the influx of illicit drugs into the country, one of the key issues on the next administration's agenda.
Cracking Down on the Cartels
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing in January of this year on matters concerning border security and enforcement.
Homan said: "I spent three decades investigating criminal cartels who smuggle narcotics into the U.S. They will use the route of least resistance. Will they go through a port of entry where every vehicle is stopped, driver spoken to … between the ports of entry when 70 to 90 percent of agents are off the line, and in several instances, no one is on the line, that's when the criminal cartel is going to move the fentanyl."
And Homan previously warned Mexican cartels in July that Trump would wipe them "off the face of the earth," during a speech at the RNC.
He also issued a stark warning that the Trump administration would designate Mexican cartels as "terrorist organizations" for their role in getting fentanyl across the southern border.
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