Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan, whom President-elect Donald Trump has appointed as Border Czar to oversee mass deportations, responded to comments from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who stated that the state will work to block the deportation of illegal immigrants.
“Look, I’m gonna do everything that I can to protect our undocumented immigrants; they’re residents of our state,” Pritzker told MSNBC’s Joy Reid after Trump’s election victory. “Uh… and I and I also obviously need to make sure that uh… whatever they’re doing in our state, the federal government, that it is actually within federal law or state law for them to do it.” The governor added, “One who intends to come take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior. You come for my people, you come through me.”
Illinois is home to several “sanctuary cities,” which are municipalities that defy federal immigration law by instructing local law enforcement not to prosecute or deport illegal immigrants unless they are charged with an additional crime. Chicago, the largest sanctuary city in the state, has been relocating illegal immigrants to surrounding communities in recent years after Governor Pritzker declared Illinois a “sanctuary state.”
While speaking with conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk on Thursday, Homan stated that the Trump administration is prepared to confront Pritzker and other Democratic leaders who seek to defy federal immigration law. “Game on,” Homan said without hesitation after listening to a clip of Pritzker’s remarks. “Game on, we’ve got no problem going through him. I have 20,000 men and women in ICE who are going to do their job with no apology. Congress has enacted a law that protects this country.” In his characteristic blunt style, the incoming border czar explained that it is the governor who is violating the law.
“People need to understand, ‘but what if they’re not criminal aliens?’ Look, entering this country illegally is a crime. Every illegal alien in this country committed a crime to get here, so they’re all criminals. And look, there’s some worse than others, I get that. And even if they’re not a criminal alien, when you cross that border and you overwhelm the border patrol, just because you’re simply an illegal alien, not a criminal, when you overrun the border patrol, that’s when they get busy changing diapers, making baby food, making hospital runs, making transportation runs,” he said.
“That’s when the fentanyl comes across to kill a quarter million people. That’s when you got 600% increase in sex trafficking. That’s when you have a record number of terrorists crossing the border and people on terrorist watch lists. Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,” he added. Homan then reaffirmed that under the Trump Administration, immigration law will be “enforced with no apologies.”
“And the day Donald Trump takes that oath, we’re in a go mode. And if any government wants to stand in the way, go ahead and do it. We’ll see what happens. I’m not going to be intimidated. The men and women of ICE aren’t going to be intimidated. We’re going to do our job the way President Trump has committed to the American people,” said Homan.
On day one, Trump plans to reinstate several immigration executive orders that were rescinded by President Biden on his first day in January 2021. Among the orders is the reintroduction of the popular “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required asylum seekers to wait outside the U.S. while their claims were processed. In contrast, the Biden administration has implemented a “catch and release” policy, where illegal immigrants are often released and sometimes transported to locations of their choosing within the U.S. interior.
