Donald Trump picks Tom Homan, former head of immigration enforcement, to be 'border czar'

WASHINGTON – Tom Homan, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will become a “border czar” overseeing deportation policy for immigrants who entered the country illegally or without legal permission, President-elect Donald Trump announced.

Homan was a controversial figure in Trump’s first term because he oversaw the “zero tolerance” policy that separated families while enforcing immigration laws.

But he has been a vocal defender of strict immigration enforcement for Trump , who vowed a mass deportation of an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants will begin on his first day in office Jan. 20.

“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday. “Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.”

Homan served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term. He became a lightning rod for criticism of Trump’s efforts to seal the southern border by extending the wall, refusing entry while asylum applications were processed and immediately sending back migrants who were caught after entering without legal permission.

CBS's "60 Minutes" asked Homan in October whether mass deportations would separate families, or what situations would prompt family separations. That could include an example like when one parent lacks official documents, one parent is a naturalized citizen and children were born in the U.S.

"Of course there is," Homan said. "Families can be deported together."

Homan was a 34-year Border Patrol agent who argued that lax border enforcement under Democrats led to a surge in migrants during the Biden administration. Trump hammered Biden over immigration throughout the campaign as a flood of dangerous criminals and drugs flowing into the country.

“Every president I worked for said they were going to secure the border,” Homan told the Republican National Convention in July. “Trump actually did it."

“Guess what? He’s going to do it again,” Homan said.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump picks Tom Homan to oversee deportations as 'border czar'