Never let it be said that the Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan, doesn't take his job seriously. He's determined to round up and repatriate every illegal alien in the United States, and he is determined to do that with or without the help of any state or city where these illegal aliens might be found.
In the latest demonstration of this, Mr. Homan has told the state of New York, through Governor Kathy Hochul, that if New York tries to limit the reach of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), then he will flood the zone with ICE agents.
Speaking at a border security expo in Arizona, Homan said he would "flood the streets" with immigration agents in states that take steps to limit cooperation with the federal government. He singled out Hochul's "Local Cops, Local Crimes Act" legislation, which is currently being considered by lawmakers amid snarled negotiations over the state budget.
“We’re gonna flood the zone," Homan said in remarks, highlighting the Trump administration's immigration strategy for the coming year. "You’re gonna see more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen before ... because you forced us in this position."
Homan said ICE will also be targeting "collaterals" — people who weren’t targets of immigration officers but are still living in the U.S. illegally — as part of the next wave of mass deportations.
"I don’t care how long you’ve been here, if you’re here illegally, entered this country illegally, you cheated," he said in the remarks. "You cheated the system."
But then, this happened:
He (Homan) met with Hochul shortly after making the remarks, and appeared to back away from a crackdown after that encounter and a meeting between Trump and New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office in January.
OK, now that just makes one wish to have been a fly on the wall during that meeting between President Trump and Mayor Mamdani. Was some kind of deal made?
Read More: Spot-On: Tom Homan Delivers a Perfect Response to the Pope on Illegal Immigration
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Immigration, including dealing with people in the country illegally, is the province of the federal government. Local and state governments can not override federal authority on this, although they can decline to offer assistance. And Tom Homan has been pursuing his repatriation tasks with zeal since his appointment. Dealing with illegal immigration was one of President Trump's major campaign points in all three campaigns, and in none more so than in 2024.
It seems unlikely that either President Trump or Tom Homan will back away from their goals now. The border is closed, with cross-border traffic brought down to a trickle after the Biden flood, and we've seen some high-profile repatriations, not to mention quite a few people who accepted the offer of a free plane ticket home and a handful of American greenbacks, to go home. But the job isn't anywhere near done, and I expect that New York will still see some roundups of illegal aliens, whether Governor Hochul likes it or not.
To Mr. Homan and to President Trump: Stay the course.
Editor’s Note: Democrat politicians and their radical supporters will do everything they can to interfere with and threaten ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws.
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