President-elect Donald Trump announced late Sunday that he plans to bring back Tom Homan, a hardline immigration official, to oversee U.S. border operations in his upcoming administration. The 78-year-old Republican has vowed to initiate the largest deportation effort targeting undocumented immigrants in U.S. history on his first day in office. Homan, who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the first 18 months of Trump’s previous term, is expected to lead the Department of Homeland Security’s Border Patrol and ICE units, often referred to together as the “border czar.”
He would also be responsible for workplace enforcement operations, targeting individuals illegally entering the United States and companies that employ them. He is a close ally of new chief of staff Stephen Miller, who has described migrants as a threat to national security and likened them to fictional cannibal Hannibal Lecter.
During the campaign, Trump vowed to “seal” the border and launch what he called “the largest deportation program in our history,” though it’s unclear whether he will follow through with his plan to deport millions of people. If carried out to its full extent, that policy could cost billions and require more than double the current number of Customs and Border Protection agents. It would also necessitate a massive expansion of the existing deportation process, which currently relies on lawful deportation requests submitted by local officials and arrests made by federal agents.
The agency’s expansive policing is often subject to little oversight or accountability, with Congress routinely acceding to budget requests that have grown beyond all reason over the last decade. As a result, many critics say that the agency has become an instrument of mass surveillance and oppressive criminal justice policies.
Homan’s appointment is a clear sign that the White House is planning to aggressively pursue Trump’s mass deportation plan and a crackdown on “chain migration,” in which long-term undocumented immigrants can bring family members to the U.S. to receive green cards and citizenship.
Ahead of his inauguration in January, lawmakers should reaffirm that they will oppose these xenophobic policies, which are widely opposed by the American public, and demand that the Trump administration rethink its approach. They should also make a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented migrants a non-negotiable demand in negotiations on comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
At CalMatters, Wendy Fry writes that non-profit groups are bracing for the impact of a Trump administration that will seek to deport millions of families. She says they are planning to take steps to combat the plan, including threatening to sue. The ACLU has filed lawsuits against other immigration policies under Trump, including family separations, and they are ready to file additional cases if needed. These lawsuits are likely to challenge the constitutionality of these policies. The ACLU is also preparing to use its political power to oppose any plans for a massive deportation program.
