ICE to ramp up worksite enforcement operations: Tom Homan

The plan was recently cleared out of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), according to Homan.

"I want to enforce immigration law. I want to arrest more every day. How many should be removed? All of them," Homan told Fox News on Sunday. "Worksite enforcement needs to happen. We need to send a message to the whole world: it's illegal to knowingly hire illegal aliens at work, and if you can't get a job, you're not going to come."

Homan emphasized that worksite enforcement is not just about arresting illegal aliens, but holding businesses accountable. He also said individuals who use fraudulent IDs to steal Social Security numbers will be prosecuted.

This comes as the Trump administration has come under pressure ahead of midterms over its immigration promises, specifically the president's mass deportation agenda. DHS Sec. Mullin has faced repeated criticism for his softer approach, including ordering ICE to only target the "worst-of-the-worst," which means targeted arrests of foreign nationals with criminal records.

Republican critics of targeted enforcement believe that in order to achieve the White House's mass deportation agenda, all foreign nationals unlawfully residing in the country should be arrested and deported, not just criminal offenders. Recently, verbal guidance to arrest only criminals went out to ICE offices across the nation. However, the guidance was immediately overturned following large-scale pushback on social media.

Sec. Mullin has since changed his tune and made it clear that all illegal aliens are subject to arrest. He now appears to be on board with mass deportations, according to his DHS social media account.

Worksite operations were a major emphasis of immigration enforcement last year, under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. From January to April 2025, thousands of illegal immigrants were apprehended during workplace raids. Retired HSI Acting Director Robert Hammer, who led the effort, said at the time: "This is the highest rate of arrest in HSI's history. We've subpoenaed the business records of about 1,200 businesses, and as part of our review, we've proposed close to $1 million in fines."

"Businesses that exploit and hire illegal workers are harming the American public," added Hammer. "ICE's statutory duties include protecting Americans and enforcing more than 400 laws that relate to immigration, so there are two aspects to our worksite enforcement operations."

Homan said he brought an official out of retirement to write up the new worksite plan. It's unclear if that was Hammer.

"No one's pushing worksite enforcement more than me because I've done it and it's effective," Homan said.