Trump appoints former ICE director Tom Homan as 'Border Czar' in charge of deportation of illegal immigrants

On Sunday night, President-elect Donald Trump announced that his former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan will serve as the incoming administration’s "border czar." Trump has promised to deport many of those who crossed into the US illegally under the Biden-Harris administration, and polling, along with his attainment of the popular vote, shows that this is a popular move with American voters.

"I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration, in charge of our Nation’s Borders (“The Border Czar”), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security," Trump wrote.

"I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders. 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 is a former police officer and Border Patrol agent. Between January 2017 and June 2018, he served as the first Trump administration’s acting director of ICE. The border czar role does not require Senate confirmation, and he retired after the White House did not move his nomination toward Senate confirmation, per the Washington Post.

Vice President Kamala Harris was the Biden-Harris administration's "border czar" under which a border crisis ensued with record numbers of illegal immigrants coming into the US. She was appointed by Biden in March 2021. Harris visited the border just twice, once in 2021, and again in 2024. She has spoken out against the ICE agency, however, saying that it should be dismantled. She also protested ICE with street activists during her Senate term, chanting "down, down with deportation, up up with education." Homan has called the Biden-Harris administration's border crisis "the biggest national security crisis I've seen since 9/11."

Homan has said that ICE will work to carry out Trump’s mass deportation plans in a “humane manner" in what will be a “necessary” and “well-targeted, planned operation,” he said, and that the arrests of criminals and national security threats would be prioritized.

Speaking with Fox News after the announcement, Homan said, "I've been on this network for years complaining about what this administration did to this border. I've been yelling and screaming about it and what they need to do to fix it. So when the president asked me, ‘Would you come back and fix it?’ Of course. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't. I'm honored the president asked me to come back and help solve this national security crisis, so I'm looking forward to it."