From the start of Trump’s presidency, Border Czar Tom Homan has been clear on his message to go after criminals, terrorists and public safety threats who are in the U.S. illegally.
At Day 100, Homan, a 40-year border patrol veteran, maintains the immigration crackdown will continue full speed ahead—and he’s serious about going after the “worst first.”
“People wanna know, am I gonna retire? I’ll retire when every public safety threat, national security threat, child rapist is eradicated from this country,” Homan said at a recent press conference, available here.
Since Jan. 20, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 66,463 illegal aliens and removed 65,682 aliens, including criminals who threaten public safety and national security. Three in four arrests were criminal illegal aliens, putting the worst first, according to a news release.
Of those, 2,288 were gang members from Tren de Aragua, MS-13, 18th Street and other gangs. ICE officers and special agents have made 1,276 worksite enforcement arrests and proposed nearly $1 million in fines for businesses that hire illegal workers.
ICE announced 100 days of record-breaking arrests, noting the criminal records of those arrested include convictions or charges for:
- 498 murders
- 9,639 assaults
- 1,329 sex offenses
- 6,398 DWIs/DUIs
- 1,479 weapon offenses
An interactive map showing arrests across the country is available at ice.gov/100days.
Regardless of what critics say, the Trump administration has delivered on securing the border in less than three months. The U.S. southern border with Mexico is virtually desolate, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and military troops monitor activity and construction on the border wall has resumed in parts of California, New Mexico and Texas.
There’s been massive decreases in border crossings as well as several executive orders aimed at deportations and further border enforcement. Known got-aways have dropped 96% under Trump, Homan said during a recent news conference.
The focus is on removing the most dangerous criminal aliens from communities to protect Americans and stop the flow of drugs and human trafficking from across the globe.
“When 96% less people are coming [across the border], how many women aren’t being sexually assaulted by the cartels?” Homan said. “How many children aren’t dying making that journey? How many women and children aren’t being sex-trafficked into this country? How many known and suspected terrorists aren’t making it into this nation? How many pounds of fentanyl isn’t getting into this country to kill young Americans?”
Homan joined Border Patrol in 1984 and worked under six presidents, noting they all took border control seriously because it’s a matter of national security.
Homan noted that “even President Obama and President Clinton” addressed border security to some extent. But Biden, he said, is the “first president in the history of this nation who came into office and unsecured the border on purpose.”
The Trump administration said in early April that it had already deported 100,000 illegal immigrants, though officials did not offer a new total at Monday’s briefing, Fox News reports.
“We removed over 65,000 illegal aliens to countries across the world,” said ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons in the release. “We’re just 100 days into this administration and thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is using every tool at its disposal to enforce our country’s immigration laws and protect our communities.”
Besides partnering with other federal agencies, including the DEA, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DOJ and CBP, ICE has increased arrests and removals with help from state and local law enforcement agencies through the 287(g) Program.
The agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations arm has 579 pending and signed agreements with police departments and sheriff’s offices across the nation, demonstrating the effectiveness of a coordinated, all-hands-on-deck approach to immigration enforcement. Since Jan. 20, there have been 444 new 287(g) agreements nationwide.
“This agency has set the bar on arrests and removals while upholding its national security mission, said ICE Deputy Director Madison D. Sheahan, in the ICE news release.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations is also zeroing in on worksite enforcement operations. Since Jan. 20, HSI has arrested more than 1,000 illegal workers and proposed over $1 million in fines against businesses that exploit and hire illegal workers, ICE reports.
“Last week, HSI broke up a human smuggling ring that’s allegedly responsible for bringing between 500 and 700 illegal aliens into the U.S. every year — aliens that the U.S. government never vetted,” Sheahan noted. “Our communities are becoming safer each day thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership.”
The Trump administration has been bombarded with lawsuits to try and stop mass deportations, particularly to an El Salvador mega prison, with Democrat lawmakers protesting and coming to the rescue of one deported MS-13 gang member.
The president invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law, to deport Venezuelan gang members to the high-security CECOT. That move has since been held up in court with the Trump administration opting to deport 17 alleged members of Tren de Aragua to El Salvador from Guantánamo Bay on Sunday night via Title 8, Fox News reports.
