The following is the complete transcript of an interview with Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Jan. 5, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Tom Homan. He will function Mr. Trump’s border czar and he joins us this morning from Naples, Florida. Good morning to you, sir.
TOM HOMAN: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Deportations at the moment are at a decade excessive. They had been on the finish of 2024. Nearly 300,000 folks deported by the Biden administration. The incoming administration has promised the most important deportation operation in historical past. What’s the quantity? What’s the measure of success?
TOM HOMAN: Well, let’s speak about this administration. What they declare is a big deportation quantity this 12 months. Actually, for those who drill in- drill into the numbers, about 80% of these numbers had been really Border Patrol arrests that the Enforcement and Removal Operations of ICE processed and moved again throughout the border. They weren’t inside enforcement arrests. If you take a look at the historic variety of unlawful entries the final 4 years, ICE, Immigration Customs Enforcement, has the bottom variety of deportations within the historical past of the company. So they’re taking part in a numbers sport. Just like they play the numbers sport the variety of folks come throughout the border. So although they declare we received the very best variety of deportations, take a look at these deportation, who really made these arrests, who really eliminated these folks? It’s not ICE.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. It’s nonetheless a better quantity than the Trump administration. But I wish to ask you, for the incoming Trump administration, what’s- what is the measure? It shouldn’t be deportations on the border. You’re saying you’ll measure success by people who find themselves already inside within the nation to deport. That’s how you are going to measure it. And what’s that determine?
TOM HOMAN: Well, once more, let’s get the numbers straight. You say they’re increased than Trump administration. This is not about what number of get deported, as a result of Trump had unlawful border crossings at a forty five 12 months low. So, after all, elimination goes to be decrease. The quantity is what number of had been launched into the United States that at the moment are within the nation illegally. Under the Biden administration, we have now hundreds of thousands of individuals launched in United States who’ve misplaced their hearings, and we have now hundreds of thousands of individuals which might be launched in United States regardless of a statute saying that you just can’t be launched within the United States with out correct documentation, you shall be detained. So you possibly can examine the numbers of deportations below Trump versus Biden. But is it- when you possibly can when you think about a forty five 12 months low in crossings, after all, the variety of deportations’s going to be decrease as a result of we do not have that- that inhabitants to course of and deport.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Well, I’m simply attempting to measure success going ahead for day one. Can you assist us perceive what the plan is? You know, plenty of industries on this nation rent undocumented employees as a result of they’re low cost labor. On day one, are you going to restart raids on work websites, on development websites?
TOM HOMAN: The- President Trump has been clear, as I’ve been clear from day one, the president goes to focus on public security threats and nationwide safety threats. And have you ever heard out of your earlier segments, we have now an enormous nationwide safety difficulty on this nation. The Southwest border has turn into the most important nationwide safety vulnerability we have seen on this nation. FBI Director Wray agrees with me. We know there’s folks on this nation who oppose the nationwide safety menace. They’ve arrested a document variety of folks on terrorist watch lists, a 3500% enhance in folks on the terrorist watch checklist being arrested on the border. We received over 2 million identified gotaways. We know 2 million folks crossed the border, weren’t arrested, weren’t vetted, weren’t fingerprinted. So you gotta ask your self, why did 2 million folks pay extra to get away? Why did not they pay much less, flip themselves into border patrol, get a free airline ticket to the town of their selection, get a free lodge room, get three meals a day, get free medical care. Why did—
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m- I’m not disputing that it’s a hemisphere vast disaster. We’re speaking about how you are going to cope with it. That’s why I’m asking you, if you say criminals, does that imply you’ll go into al- already current prisons at native degree and deport people who find themselves in these prisons? Are you going to go to work forces? I imply, how have you learnt the place the criminals are, I assume, is the query? And in the event that they’re working at a piece web site, are you going to point out as much as shock them?
TOM HOMAN: Well, look, we all know the place plenty of the criminals are. ICE- ICE does. They’re nice at this work. We know the place some are, however they merely have not been capable of go arrest them, as a result of the Secretary Mayorkas priorities, it handcuffed ICE. So we all know the place plenty of criminals are, they- they’ve been- been prevented from arresting that we’ll arrest beginning day one. As far as being in jails and prisons, we might like to work in native jails, however sanctuary cities will not permit us into these jails. It’s a lot simpler to arrest a public security menace within the security and safety of a public jail than out on the street, as a result of the officer is safer that approach, the alien’s safer that approach, the group is safer that approach. But sanctuary cities who proceed to launch public security threats again in the neighborhood to the immigrant group, it places that group at larger threat of crime. And- and- and here is what is going on to occur, after we go to the group and discover that particular person, discover that felony alien, it is in all probability going to be with others. Others we’ll must arrest. So it isn’t protected for the group, not protected for the officers, not protected for anyone. Let us arrest a nasty man within the jail cell the place you selected to arrest someone and put him within the jail cell as a result of clearly he is a public security menace.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. What you simply mentioned in there, it sounded such as you had been speaking about collateral arrests. So you are going to goal folks you understand are criminals, but when they occur to be residing in a home the place there are different undocumented folks, you are going to sweep them up too. That’s what I feel you had been simply saying there. I’m wondering how you are going to parse out a few of these collateral arrests. For instance, will Dreamers be protected? Donald Trump has mentioned he needs to work with Democrats to guard them and provides them standing. That takes a very long time in Congress. What do you do within the meantime? How do you be certain they don’t seem to be caught up in a dragnet?
TOM HOMAN: Look, every- every- each particular person ICE arrests, they do what we name fugitive operations spreadsheet. They know precisely who they are going to arrest. They know precisely the place they’re in all probability prone to discover them, and so they have plenty of data on that arrest. Other folks which might be there that could be unlawful, they will deal with by case-by-case foundation. The concentration- I wish to be clear on some public security threats. If extra brokers within the jails means much less brokers within the neighborhood, that is why I’m pleading with sanctuary cities, allow us to within the jail to arrest the dangerous man. That approach you are not forcing in the neighborhood. So- you understand, for those who go to an immigrant group and ask them, would you fairly have ICE working in your native jails? Would you need them in the neighborhood? What do you assume they are going to say? They don’t- they do not need bad- dangerous felony aliens of their neighborhoods both. So allow us to work with the jails. Let us work with regulation enforcement. Sanctuary cities aren’t protected for this- for the immigrant group, not protected for our officers.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, in order that’s like, Secure Communities act- variety of- type of motion. But then the place do you ship folks? Because a few of these international locations, like Venezuela, do not settle for deportations proper now. Mexico’s president indicated her nation is perhaps keen to obtain non-Mexican migrants who’re deported. How does that work? Does the U.S. pay Mexico to then ship these folks off elsewhere?
TOM HOMAN: Well, to start with, we received President Trump coming to the Oval Office, and he is confirmed throughout his first administration, his- his management on unlawful immigration was a sport changer, as a result of, as an example, El Salvador would not take again MS-13 members once I was the ICE Director. It took President Trump 48 hours to get El Salvador to take again their felony aliens into their prisons. And Mexico did not wish to do the Remain in Mexico program. But President Trump was capable of get Remain in Mexico- Remain in Mexico established in Mexico. He was capable of get Mexico put navy on the southern and northern border. President Trump’s a robust president. This administration has not compelled these international locations to take them again, and we have now what we name third protected nation. We have already got international locations speaking about taking again folks from different international locations if- if as an example, Venezuela do not take their folks again. There’s different methods we are able to do it. There’s different international locations be keen to just accept them. We’re hoping that President Trump will work with Venezuela and like he did with Mexico and El Salvador, and get these international locations take them again. If they do not, they’re nonetheless gonna be deported. They’re simply gonna be deported to a special nation. We’re not gonna be held up on eradicating public security belief on this nation. We gotta put- we gotta put the security of the American folks first. We’ve had too many younger girls murdered and raped and burned alive by members of Venezuelan gangs. They should be a precedence below this administration. They’re gonna be a precedence beginning day one, and they are going to be deported.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We will keep tuned for the small print. Borders czar Tom Homan, thanks to your time. We’ll be again in a second.
