Thomas Homan, president Donald Trump's border czar, defended ICE raids in public schools, saying "many" gang members of MS-13 are between the ages of "14 to 17."
The comment was made during a segment of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" which aired today on ABC News.
Homan gave insight into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to capture and later deport immigrants who are MS-13 and Tren de Agua gang members out of the United States.
"What criminals are hiding in schools," Martha Raddatz asked Homan. "Middle schools, elementary schools, you're going to go into those?"
"How many MS-13 members are the age 14-17? Many of them," Homan replied. He said he'd enter schools to address potential threats to "national security" and "public safety," but that it'd be on a "case by case" basis.
In the segment, Homan further alluded to the "national security" threat that undocumented immigrants pose, citing cases of women being "raped," "murdered" and "burned alive" by immigrants and the uptick in sex trafficking and fentanyl use.
Trump's administration said it will no longer tell ICE agents to avoid "sensitive" locations such as schools, hospitals and churches.
"These are well trained officers with a lot of discretion, and when it comes to a sensitive location, there's still gonna be supervisory review," Homan said.
"So it's not like it's an open, open issue, but ICE officers should have discretion to decide if a national security threat or a public safety threats that's in one of these facilities, then it should be an option of them to make the arrest," Homan said.
Raddatz said raids will create fear in the immigrant community to which Homan explained he's enforcing the laws Congress implemented.
"Well, look, here's the thing if Congress has a job to do, we're enforcing laws Congress enacted and the president signed, if they don't like it, change the law," Homan said. "I find it hard to believe any member of Congress is telling us not to enforce the law that they enacted and they fund us to do."
There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.
Homan said ICE needs a minimum of 100,000 beds for "softside facilities" to house people. Prior, he suggested "halfway houses" to hold U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants.
He said Congress needs to approve funding so the Trump administration through ICE can "secure that border."
As of January 23, ICE arrested 308 individuals in a nationwide sweep.
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