Trump’s Border Czar Wants to Partner With Local Law Enforcement for Deportation Operations

Then-acting ICE Director Tom Homan speaks at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies, on June 5, 2018. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, said on Sunday that he intends to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to tackle illegal immigration.

Homan said the incoming Trump administration will enforce border security and immigration laws to ensure the removal of immigrants who were already ordered to leave the country by a federal judge.

“It’s a big operation,” Homan said in an interview with The Epoch Times host, Jan Jekielek, at the Turning Point USA event on Jan. 19. “Every day, we’re gonna make a difference.”

“For every criminal we take off the streets, we make the streets safer. For every child we find in sex trafficking, it’s going to save a life. For every pound of fentanyl we seize at the border ... there’s going to be less overdose deaths in this country,” he said.

“You’re going to see a difference, starting day one.”

Homan, who served as acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Trump’s first term, suggested that the process will require cooperation from local law enforcement in sanctuary cities.

“We want partnerships with state, local, federal law enforcement,” he said. “So we want American people to get involved. They see a lot of things.”

Some sanctuary cities have already taken steps to protect illegal immigrants after Trump pledged to initiate mass deportations. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a policy last month that will block the use of county resources to support ICE activities.

In November 2024, the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance banning the use of city resources and personnel for federal immigration enforcement. The Los Angeles Unified School District also adopted a resolution on Nov. 19, 2024, declaring itself a “sanctuary district” for students and families within the school district.

Deportation Plan

Homan has previously stated that the mass deportation operation would begin in Chicago. He said the incoming Trump administration is reviewing certain aspects of the plan related to its location and timing, following a leak of details to the press.

“We’re not reconsidering any operation,” Hooman told Fox News on Sunday. “Chicago’s not off the table, but we’re reconsidering when and how we do it because there was a leak.”

Hooman said that the leaked details raised concerns about officer safety and could potentially jeopardize operational plans.

“They already have a dangerous job. Like I said, they’re going to arrest public safety threats and national security threats, dangerous. But when those bad guys has a heads-up that we’re hitting you at this time on this day, it raises officer safety concerns, specific operational plans,” he told the news outlet. “So we’re looking at it, what was leaked, what’s actually in there and how is it going to affect us moving forward.”

Homan and other Trump officials have stated that they will prioritize targeting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes or are deemed a threat to U.S. national security.

They have also pledged to deport anyone residing in the country illegally, although Trump has indicated he would consider allowing so-called Dreamers—illegal immigrants who have been in the United States since childhood—to remain under certain conditions.

Hooman said last month that he expects deportation efforts will lead to collateral arrests in sanctuary cities, adding that he plans to obtain U.S. military aircraft to serve “as a force multiplier” in the deportation effort.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.