Homan, the first ICE director who "came up through the ranks," said that at the federal level, there are four key things that must first be done.
1. To reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy, where those who seek asylum or entry into the US and arrive at the US-Mexico border submit their petition or claim for entry then wait in Mexico for their court date or for adjudication of their claim. Under the Biden-Harris administration, this was considered inhumane and those who arrived were processed and then released into the US. Reinstating this policy would be a task for the president and Homan said that it was a real deterrent to would-be border crossers. Nine out of ten people who claim asylum do not actually qualify once their case is heard in court.
2. The First Safe Country agreements must be reinstated, Homan said. This is the policy wherein to qualify to make an asylum claim at the US border, the applicant must have claimed asylum in the first safe country in which they arrived after leaving their own nation. This is an agreement that was made by the three Northern Triangle Countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador and it is to ensure that the individual is actually seeking asylum, not simply using lax US asylum rules to enter the US and remain there until a court date.
3. "We're going to stop Catch and Release day one," Homan said. Under the Biden-Harris administration, those who were caught illegally entering the US were processed and released into the US to await a court date. Homan's plan would be to ensure that illegal immigrants are either "immediately returned or detained," but not released into the US.
4. The Border Wall is the final component of this strategy, he said. The Biden-Harris administration did not finish building that wall, Homan said, noting that the key components of that wall are the tech components that alert border patrol if the wall is being breached either under, over or through. There are also communications pieces of that wall that were not installed, which is "an officer safety issue." He said that the border wall has proved to be a deterrent because when it is encountered, it actually stops people and that border agents are more easily able to manage the limited crossings as opposed to the lengthy US-Mexico border.
As to his plan to enact mass deportations to remove the 8 to 10 million illegal immigrants who came into the US over the past four years. Homan said that he intends to "kick off the largest mass deportation this country has ever seen." He told Kirk his plans for that, too. Kirk noted that there are literally Venezuelan gangs taking over apartment buildings in both Colorado and Texas, and pressed Homan on what authority the federal government has to do.
Homan said that federal law supersedes state or local law when it comes to sanctuary cities. Under Trump's first term, Homan said, nine out of ten of those illegal immigrants who were deported were convicted criminals or had pending criminal charges and that under the new term, ICE would start with those who were Convicted Criminals or have Charges Pending. "We're going after the public safety threat and national security threats first," he said. Homan said that in cities that refuse to aid ICE, he will "double the manpower for that city."
He will also Enforce the Laws Enacted by Congress, including laws around arresting US citizens who are "harboring" illegal aliens. Homan intends to extend this principle to local jails that in sanctuary cities refuse to turn over illegal immigrants for deportation who have been charged with crimes.
Homan also cleared up just which illegal immigrants are and are not criminals, saying "Entry to this country illegally is a crime, every illegal alien in this country committed a crime to get here, so they're all criminals." For Homan, however, it's not about the individuals, but what the massive influx of illegal immigrants facilitates: smuggling of human beings and drugs. When border patrol is overwhelmed at the border, he said, that's when the cartels move in with fentanyl and other drugs that lay waste to American lives.
