Former president Donald Trump has recently mentioned that if he wins the 2024 elections, he will put Tom Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his next border czar. Aggressive on enforcement, Tom Homan would oversee almost every aspect of border security. This includes tightening up immigration policy, increasing deportations, and carrying out a more rigorous border control measure.
Homan, who served as the acting director at ICE from 2017 through 2018, proved to be a divisive figure because of his more extreme enforcement policies-which included policies aimed at deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible and conducting huge ICE raids. He has publicly supported Trump’s immigration policy, often going on highly-rated news media to defend the administration’s policies on the topic. As probably the “border czar,” Homan is going to ensure that President Trump’s vision for a secure southern border, with diminished unauthorized crossings and retardation of drug trafficking turns into reality.
With the status of a “border czar,” he would be a more salient contact for coordination among the border security agencies, including DHS and ICE. His role would be to get them streamlined into an efficiently resourceful way of conducting their activities to ensure strict and effective enforcement of immigration laws.
Trump’s selection of Homan is a concrete step toward the regaining of control over U.S. borders by the Trump administration. Indeed, he has centered the message of his announcement on this concern, calling the southern border of the U.S. a “crisis” and noting that “an effective leader is needed to tackle the crisis.” According to Trump, “Tom Homan knows how to get the job done. He’s tough, he’s dedicated, and he’s not afraid to make the difficult decisions needed to protect our country.”
Homan’s nomination is another mixed reaction across political lines- he’s an experienced man with no-nonsense, seasoned expartner of border security for many, while a source of concern for all whose default button is in alarm over human rights concerns and more for immigrant communities.
The announcement for the border czar by Donald Trump sets a stage in the election cycle into 2024, closely following his agenda with the previous presidency on his interests-immigration. Homan’s return to position, as such, means Trump’s administration would enforce harder measures if he seeks and wins re-election-the sort of complexities surrounding issues of immigration and border control.
