Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement official-turned ‘border czar’ Tom Homan said during an interview Tuesday he will have no problems jailing Democratic officials in cities and states around the country who try to interfere with the incoming administration’s pledge to mass deport people in the country illegally. In particular, Homan was responding to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who pledged last week that he would resist the deportation of illegal aliens living in the city.
“Tom, you heard this mayor out there in Colorado, I want to get your reaction to it. And I want you to be clear about who has jurisdiction. The federal government or state and local governments? And if you’re a sanctuary state or city, are you breaking the law?” Fox News host Sean Hannity asked. Homan responded: Yeah, you’re absolutely breaking the law. All he has to do is look at Arizona vs. U.S. and you will see he’s breaking the law.”
But look, me and the Denver mayor we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail. I’m willing to put him in jail. There’s a statute, Title 8, United States Code 1324 – AAA. And what it says is it’s a felony if you knowingly harbor and conceal illegal aliens from immigration authorities. It is also a felony to impede a federal law enforcement officer,” Homan continued. “So if you don’t want to help, that’s fine. He can get the hell out of the way, but we’re going to go do the job. President Trump has a mandate from the American people. We’ve got to secure this country and save American lives.”
Homan noted further: “I find it shocking that any mayor of a city would say — President Trump’s been clear. We want to concentrate on public safety threats and national security threats. I find it hard to believe that any mayor or governor would say they don’t want public safety threats removed from their neighborhoods. I mean, I don’t know what the hell is going on in Denver, but we’re going to go and we’re going to fix it. If you don’t want to fix it, if he doesn’t want to protect his communities, President Trump and ICE will.”
That led Hannity to ask: “So you will be going into Colorado, Illinois, New York, California, and you are going to you are going to uphold the law of the land. That’s your commitment. It doesn’t matter what these elected politicians threaten or say that they are going to do?” Homan was adamant: “We’re going to enforce the law, period, and they’re not going to stop us.”
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Homan appeared on the broadcast with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (r), whose state is working to assist the incoming administration with its mass deportation efforts. On Tuesday, at the Texas-Mexico border, the family of Jocelyn Nungaray watched as the state of Texas installed a border wall panel dedicated to the memory of the 12-year-old girl. Jocelyn was tragically murdered in June by two undocumented immigrants, and her death has become a focal point for state leaders pushing for stricter border policies and enhanced immigration enforcement. \
The initiative revolves around a 1,400-acre property that the state purchased in October. Buckingham has promised to transfer this land to Trump’s incoming administration. Located near the border, the property is intended to serve as a site for detention and deportation operations. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, a strong supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, unveiled the panel alongside the launch of an ambitious initiative called “The Jocelyn Initiative.” The project, named in honor of Jocelyn, aims to repurpose state-owned land for deportation facilities, delivering on a key promise from Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“The Jocelyn Initiative, you may have heard, we’ve offered this 1,400 acre ranch in case it fits the Trump administration’s needs for a detention and deportation facility,” Buckingham said. “With the Jocelyn Initiative, with her mother and grandmother present, we said we are not going to tolerate one more child being lost to violent criminals who have come across our border illegally, or one more child that we have lost because someone let a bad guy out of jail.” She added: “So we are coming together, we’re gonna identify properties around the state, and again, if they meet the Trump administration’s needs, that’s what we’re gonna do … we’re gonna get it done.”
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