Thomas Homan, appointed as border czar by President-elect Donald Trump, is dominating the headlines with his hardline immigration rhetoric, including resurfaced comments about him vowing to lead "the biggest deportation force" ever seen in the country and recent takes on workplace raids and "self-deportations" of undocumented migrants.
Homan hasn't focused solely on immigration either, as evidenced by his recent take on Mexico-based cartels during an appearance on Fox News. "These cartels are animals and that's why President Trump is going to take them off the face of the Earth," Homan said. The groups, he added, have proven highly dangerous to Americans in the past:
"They have killed more Americans than every terrorist organization in the world and Trump is committed to calling them terrorist organizations and using the full might of the United States Special Operations to take them out"
Incoming "border czar" @RealTomHoman joins NewsNation's "CUOMO," and explains why cartels are a national security threat.
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) November 14, 2024
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Homan went on to indicate that the Trump administration intends to designate cartel members as terrorists, which would enable the expanded use of federal resources to deal with them. The designation, according to Homan, would allow for deploying U.S. Special Operations forces to target and dismantle cartel networks.
Homan also claimed that "criminal cartels in Mexico are like a Fortune 500 company," describing their expansion into dozens of countries and growing control of drug distribution networks within the U.S.
Cartel violence has been on the rise during the second half of the year, as the criminal organizations have expanded their activities, including involvement in human smuggling and the recruitment of foreign fighters and minors. Cartel activity has already displaced almost 10 thousand Mexicans in 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
Cartel violence has also shifted in nature as a recent piece by Border Report revealed that cartel members are now permitted to fire border agents, suggesting a departure from past unspoken agreements to avoid conflict with U.S. border officials.
When asked about his plans to address border cartel violence, President-elect Donald Trump told News Nation that a "military operation" was the answer. "These people have become military," Trump said. "They're very rich, have a lot of money. They're among the richest people, probably in the world."
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