President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar has unequivocally declared that he intends to capture all illegal immigrants residing in the United States when he launches a massive deportation operation.

Tom Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who was tapped to lead the Trump administration’s ambitious immigration enforcement initiative, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the focus will be on “starting with the worst.” He said he intended to hit the target, but he also warned that all individuals living in this country illegally are fair targets. The comments came after some border hardliners spoke out. openly speculated Whether the Trump team watered down its agenda before the inauguration. (Related article: Illegal immigrant charged with gruesome crime of burning woman to death on subway)

Homan told the DCNF, “Similar to the first Trump administration, we will prioritize public safety threats, national security threats, and fugitives,” with gang members and other criminals primarily He added that the focus will be on “Those who were ordered deported through due process at the expense of millions of taxpayers and who never left the country and became fugitives are also a priority.”

“They’re the biggest threat to this country first. We’ll start with the worst,” Homan continued. “But let me be clear: Even if you are in the country illegally, you are not exempt.”

Mr. Trump, who recently won the presidential election by a landslide, campaigned on a platform of support for immigration enforcement. Republicans put Homan in charge of deportation efforts, South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security, Caleb Vitello to head ICE, and Rodney Scott to lead Customs. – Appointed director of border security and other important immigration-related appointments.

The president-elect has made a series of hawkish border policy promises, including reinstating the Remain in Mexico program, building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and ending birthright citizenship for people born to illegal immigrant parents. , vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in the country’s history. Estimates vary, but organizations like the Federation for American Immigration Reform calculate it as follows: Approximately 17 million The large number of illegal immigrants in the United States means that the Trump administration will have its hands full removing just a small portion of this population.

Homan and Trump allies have repeatedly said the deportation operation will be carried out under a “worst-first” policy, prioritizing those who pose a threat to the country’s security, such as convicted criminals and gang members. states. While such policies ostensibly reflect the fundamental logistical and financial constraints of large-scale enforcement operations, their mantra is: raised some concerns Border hawks argue that the incoming administration is watering down its lauded goals.

Nevertheless, Homan reiterated that undocumented immigrants have no reason to think they are completely safe from deportation.

The Biden administration took office in 2021 and suspended ICE deportations and oversaw the lowest number of deportations in the agency’s history, though it recently boasted that it had the highest number of deportations in the past fiscal year. However, Homan said these numbers are mostly fudged because they primarily consist of deportations of individuals initially apprehended by the Border Patrol and not those apprehended by ICE in the interior. .

The public debate over illegal immigration has expanded under the Biden administration, not only because of the record number of border encounters experienced in recent years, but also because of a number of high-profile crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants. Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, was found guilty in November of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Sebastián Zapeta, a Guatemalan national, was accused of burning a woman alive on a New York City train earlier this month, and Torren de Aragua gang members have been accused of a series of crimes across the country. There is

The incoming border czar said deportations taking place now under the Biden administration will look poor in January when President Trump takes office and can allow deportation officials to operate with far fewer restrictions.

“We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them do what’s best,” Homan declared to the DCNF.

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