Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s Border Czar, addressed the Arizona Legislature Tuesday regarding border security efforts.
House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-Glendale) said, “I consider it an honor to call him my friend,” and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) provided a warm welcome, “Just want to let you know that Arizona will do anything we can to support you in your efforts.”
The Democratic legislators in the House of Representatives’ chamber — both senators and representatives — stood up and walked out as Homan began, “The Biden administration created the most significant immigration crisis in the history of this nation.” In contrast, since Trump took office, “We’ve run the biggest deportation operation in the history of this nation.” He said the administration is prioritizing finding 300,000 children of illegal immigrants who have gone missing, many who were transitioned into forced labor or sex trafficking.
He said border crossings are down 94 percent in the few weeks since Trump took office.
“President Trump did in five weeks what Joe Biden didn’t, or didn’t attempt to do in four years, which proved that he could have done it all along. You didn’t need new laws from Congress. As he said, one of his best lines … we just needed a new president — we got him,” Homan said.
He accused the Biden administration of deliberately taking no action. “The Biden administration came in and unsecured the most secure border we’ve ever had on purpose, not by accident,” the Border Czar said.
Homan contrasted the two administrations. “In the first two months under Joe Biden, January, I mean February, March, they released 184,000 illegals into the country. In the same time for President Trump, nine. … Catch and release is over. President Trump stopped that day one.”
He listed off several “historic records” from the Biden administration. Over 4,000 illegal immigrants died attempting to cross the border. A quarter million Americans died from fentanyl coming across the border. There was a 600 percent increase in sex trafficking of women and children. Over 400 people on the terrorist watch list came over the border. About 2.2 million escaped arrest after illegally crossing, equal to 1,800 per day.
In contrast, only 41 escaped arrest after crossing the day before, Homan said. He said the Trump administration will achieve “total operational control of our Southern border.”
He said since nine out of 10 illegal immigrants applying for asylum are turned down, these are “fraudulent claims.”
Addressing whether illegal immigrants who haven’t committed serious crimes will be deported too, he said there is a “prioritization about who we go after first, but in the meanwhile, we’re doing that, we find a non-criminal illegal alien, they’re coming too. … If you’re in the country illegally, you should be looking over your shoulder. It’s not okay to enter this country illegally; it’s a crime.”
He criticized Biden’s DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who he called “borderline treasonous.” He said Mayorkas “told ICE officers — immigration officers who took an oath to enforce laws — saying you can’t arrest somebody for being here illegally unless he is convicted of a serious offense. He rewrote immigration law.”
Homan said he is “bringing hell to 90 illegal aliens that raped a child.” Unfortunately, the rapists have been walking the streets free until now due to sanctuary cities. Citing one rapist who was caught under the new Trump administration, he asked, “How many children did he rape in two years when he walked in the streets because that sheriff refused to cooperate with us?” He noted that Attorney General Pam Bondi has already started suing sanctuary cities.
He said women are being raped on the border every day, and a child is dying on the border every day, so the administration has a “zero tolerance” policy. Studies show that the cartels rape 31 percent of women illegally crossing the border, he said.
Homan addressed criticism of the policy of separating illegal immigrant parents from their children at the border when the parents are incarcerated.
“American families are separated every day by law enforcement,” he said. “When the parent commits a crime, the child will go to jail with them, but they want to separate — different set of rules for the illegals. We’re not getting a different set of rules, zero tolerance.”
He added, “If I came here to Arizona next month; I leave my child, even my dog, in a back seat of my car to go and get groceries, I’m going to get arrested. Whereas you pack a million people and put their children in the hands of criminal cartels and that’s OK? … Did they raise hell about 300,000 missing kids? Do they raise hell about Lincoln Riley fighting 17 minutes to survive?”
Honan said the criticism was hypocritical.
“None of them want to talk about that. They can walk down the room, all the signs that they want, because Tom Holman ain’t shutting up, and Tom Holman ain’t going away,” the law enforcement expert said.
He declared, “President Trump will designate criminal cartels as terrorist organizations, and he will wipe them off the face of the earth. “[After Trump said that,] [d]eath threats started the next day in the cartels. … We won’t apologize for sending two plane loads of terrorists out of this country.”
He praised the Arizona Legislature for significant border security legislation last year and the new Arizona ICE Act this year.
“Congrats on immigration legislation. I know it’s being litigated, but you’ll win,” he said.
Around 15-20 protesters stood outside the House of Representatives building with a megaphone, yelling about deportations.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
