Donald Trump said on November 10 that Tom Homan will be the administration’s “Border Czar.” While nominally about the Mexican border, Homan’s position will address both border and interior deportation. Trump says that Homan will coordinate mass deportations. This will apparently be a White House position and not formally placed within the Department of Homeland Security. The chances of coordination battles with the formal heads of DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are very high.
Homan appears to believe that the government can deport U.S. citizens who are children of unauthorized persons.
As Acting Director of ICE during the first phase of the first Trump administration, Homan was deeply involved in border security and immigration enforcement. Under Homan’s leadership, ICE dramatically stepped up enforcement actions, including operations in places traditionally avoided by ICE, such as schools and courthouses. Homan played a key role in designing and implementing controversial immigration policies, including the child separation policy. You can see a timeline for the child separation policy here.
Prior to his role at the temporary head of ICE, Homan had a 33-year career in law enforcement, including positions as a former NYPD officer and US Border Patrol agent.