President-elect Donald Trump's border czar, former ICE Acting Director Tom Homan, has issued a stark message to drug cartels and crime syndicates operating in Mexico.
Immigration was key to Trump's winning campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris and was instrumental in fueling his comeback victory last week. Trump, who won the popular vote for the first time in three attempts, swept all seven key battleground states in his stunning comeback victory on November 5.
Speaking on Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum, Homan said: "The criminal cartels in Mexico know President Trump is going to pay a lot of attention to them."
Homan said the president-elect will designate the cartels as terrorist organizations and vowed the incoming administration will "take them out."
"Under President Trump, there is no catch and release; there is no fraudulent asylum claims," Homan said.
"You are either going to remain in Mexico or be in detention. You won't come across the border and be released and flown to the city of choice at free taxpayer's expense."
Newsweek has contacted Homan outside of normal office hours via a contact form.
Homan's message highlights the incoming administration's intent to take a hardline stance on immigration. Homan is expected to be laser-focused on the U.S.-Mexico border and its related issues: border security, mass deportations, and cracking down on cartels.
Speaking on Venezuelan migrants, Homan said: "If Venezuela doesn't take them back, he (Trump) can cancel all the visas, cancel all the tourists and visitor visas. There is a lot of things President Trump can do to hold them accountable."
It comes as Venezuelan crime syndicate Tren De Aragua (TdA) has been thrust into the national spotlight after a viral video circulated on social media of men with assault rifles storming an apartment complex in the city of Aurora, Colorado.
Senator Marco Rubio previously told Newsweek that the group is a "vicious gang that has invaded our country thanks to the negligence of the Biden-Harris Administration's irresponsible open border policy."
"It took multiple demands from members of Congress for this administration to designate these vicious thugs as a Transnational Criminal Organization. However, more meaningful actions are clearly needed," Rubio previously told Newsweek.
Trump has appointed three hardliners to key positions that will be at the forefront of shaping immigration policy, making them essential to the success or failure of his administration.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been appointed Department of Homeland Security secretary, while close Trump aide Stephen Miller was appointed deputy chief of policy.
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.
When pressed on whether there is a way to conduct a mass deportation plan without family separation, Homan said: "Of course there is. Families can be deported together."
Amy Fischer, director of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International USA, previously told Newsweek: "President-elect Trump is aiming to appoint officials that have a history of implementing family separation and mass deportation. The proposed policies are rooted in racism and xenophobia with the sole aim of causing cruel and immense suffering to people coming to the U.S. to rebuild their lives."
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