President-elect Donald Trump's incoming "Border Czar," Tom Homan, is eager to start his new job. Like his boss, he's gearing up to hit the ground running to conduct what Trump has described as the "largest deportation operation in U.S. history."
Speaking with Donald Trump Jr.'s podcast, Homan anticipated the public can already expect actions on the first day of the administration. "Shock and awe," he said twice, with a smile.
While Homan did not provide concrete details, Trump did reveal this week that he is planning on declaring a national emergency the moment he takes office, seeking to use the U.S. military to carry out deportation plans.
Trump gave the confirmation on his social media platform, Truth Social, echoing a comment made by Tom Fitton, president of conservative group Judicial Watch. Fitton had posted earlier this month that Trump was "prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program." Trump reposted the message with the caption "TRUE!!"
Earlier this year at the Republican national convention, Homan gave a speech in which he planned to launch what he claims will be the "biggest deportation force" ever seen in the country, The Guardian reported.
"As a guy who spent 34 years deporting illegal aliens, I got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden's released in our country in violation of federal law: you better start packing now – you're damn right – because you're going home," Homan said.
Mass deportations were at the center of Trump's presidential campaign, and he vowed repeatedly to remove the some 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country. During his first term, Trump implemented policies like "zero tolerance" and family separation, aimed at curbing illegal immigration, with Homan as a central figure in enforcing these measures.
Further reports have detailed plans for large expansions of immigrant detention facilities, with the shares of The Geo Group and CoreCivic, two of the largest publicly-traded companies in the private prison industry, soaring as a result of investor expectations of increased demand for detention services.
The aim is to double the current 41,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)detention beds, with plans for temporary and permanent facilities across the U.S. to house detained immigrants prior to deportation, NBC News reported. This expansion would include reinstating family detention policies that were ended in 2021 under the Biden administration.
In that context, immigrant and civil groups are preparing for what promises to be a challenging period, drafting legal briefs, coordinating messaging, urging immigrants to get legal aid and stockpiling cash to lawyer up.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
