6 things to know about Trump's 'border czar' Thomas Homan
Thomas Homan was a proponent of the "zero tolerance" family separation policy at the US border during Trump's first presidency.
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- President-elect Trump announced that Thomas Homan will serve as "border czar" in his administration.
- Homan served as acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump's first presidency.
- He was a proponent of the "zero tolerance" policy separating children from parents at the border.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Sunday that Thomas Homan would join his administration as a "border czar" overseeing the security of US borders on land, air, and sea.
Homan, 62, previously served as acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump's first presidency and as ICE's executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations under President Barack Obama.
Here's a look at Homan's education, political leanings, and career in immigration.
Representatives for Homan, The Heritage Foundation, and the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Homan earned an associate degree in criminal justice from Jefferson Community College and a bachelor's degree from SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
He worked as a police officer in West Carthage, New York, then became a Border Patrol agent in 1984.
He rose through the ranks as a special agent and deputy assistant director for investigations before becoming assistant director for enforcement at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, headquarters in Washington, DC, in 2009.
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In his three years as executive associate director, Homan oversaw the deportation of over 920,000 people who entered the US illegally, according to ICE. ICE also arrested and deported 534,000 convicted criminals who entered the US illegally.
Obama awarded Homan the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service in 2015.
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Homan told The Atlantic's Caitlin Dickerson that he first pitched the idea of prosecuting parents who entered the US illegally and separating them from their children in order to deter families from attempting dangerous illegal border crossings.
"The goal wasn't to traumatize," he said. "The goal was to stop the madness, stop the death, stop the rape, stop the children dying, stop the cartels doing what they're doing."
When the "zero tolerance" policy was implemented in April 2018, thousands of families were separated at the US-Mexico border, sparking widespread protests. The United Nations Human Rights chief called the policy "government-sanctioned child abuse."
Even after Trump signed an executive order ending the family separation policy in June 2018, government officials struggled to reunite parents with their children, who had been sent to shelters and foster care families across the US.
Trump awarded him a Distinguished Service Medal in June 2018.
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Homan joined The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, as a visiting fellow in February 2022. He is listed as a contributor to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for a second Trump presidency.
The 922-page right-wing "playbook" advocates for policies such as eliminating the Department of Education, banning abortion medications, and promoting "marriage, work, motherhood, fatherhood, and nuclear families."
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Homan retired from ICE and joined Fox News as a contributor in August 2018. He has appeared on "Hannity," "The Ingraham Angle," and "Fox & Friends," among other programs, to discuss US border policies and illegal immigration.
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The specifics of Homan's job description as Trump's "border czar" remain to be seen, but at the National Conservatism Conference in July, Homan said he planned to "run the biggest deportation operation this country's ever seen."
In a post on Truth Social announcing Homan's appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, Trump wrote that Homan would oversee the country's maritime, aviation, and border security.
"I've known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders," Trump wrote. "Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job."
Homan told "Fox & Friends" on Monday that he was "honored" to accept the position.
