President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, says it’s “game on” for sanctuary cities across the U.S. where local officials limit what they share with federal immigration officers.
And “more non-criminals” who are undocumented should be on the lookout.
Speaking on Newsmax, Homan said the feds will send more immigration officials to places that call themselves sanctuary cities.
Homan:
“Sanctuary cities can play their games all they want, but we’re just gonna double the man force there, so if we have to go to a community and look for them that’s what we’ll do. It’s going to take more manpower, but we’ll send more manpower to sanctuary cities,” he said.
“But here’s what they don’t want, what you’re going to get, is forces in the community will find the bad guy, but if he’s with others — others that aren’t a criminal priority but in the country illegally, they’re gonna go too. So sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want, more agents in their neighborhoods and more non-criminals being arrested. They want to play that game? Game on.”
Trump tasked Homan to be responsible for the southern and northern borders, maritime and aviation security and deportation efforts.
Homan is a tough-talking former Border Patrol agent who worked his way up to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2017 and 2018 as the acting director. He was never confirmed by the Senate, and his new role does not require it.
When Trump first tapped him for the role, Homan said that those targeted — at least initially — would be people posing a risk to public safety and pushed back on suggestions that the U.S. military would be assisting in finding and deporting immigrants.
During a “60 Minutes” interview before the election, Homan called suggestions of mass neighborhood raids or building camps to hold people “ridiculous.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
