Trump border czar defends school, church raids as US agencies target Chicago
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Mr Tom Homan says the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda sends a clear message.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump’s border czar on Jan 26 defended raiding churches and schools as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, while his office announced a multi-agency federal sweep aimed at “potentially dangerous criminal aliens” in Chicago.
Mr Trump began his second term on Jan 20 with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling US immigration.
His administration quickly moved to ramp up deportations, including by relaxing rules governing enforcement actions at “sensitive” locations
Asked about the rule change, Mr Tom Homan, a former head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tapped to oversee Mr Trump’s hardline immigration agenda
“There are consequences for entering the country illegally. If we don’t show there are consequences, you’re never going to fix the border problem,” he told ABC News’ This Week programme.
Such actions would nonetheless be made on a “case by case” basis, Mr Homan said, noting that “many” members of gangs such as MS-13 are teenagers.
If there is a “national security threat or a public safety threat that’s in one of these facilities, then it should be an option”, he added.
He was speaking from Chicago, a Democratic stronghold and a so-called “sanctuary city” for migrants, which he has called “ground zero” of the deportation push.
‘Enhanced targeted operations’
ICE announced on Jan 26 on social media platform X that it had joined five other federal agencies in “enhanced targeted operations” in Chicago “to enforce US immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities”.
Joining ICE were the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the US Marshals Service.
No details were provided on the extent of the action or how many people were detained.
Fear of being swept up in the raids kept many Latinos living in the region at home, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, told CNN that state officials would assist federal law enforcement agencies in apprehending anyone accused or convicted of violent crimes but would defend “law-abiding” citizens.
On Jan 23, leaders of three Catholic organisations blasted the rule change allowing raids on churches and schools, saying in a joint statement that “turning places of care, healing and solace into places of fear and uncertainty... will not make our communities safer”.
When pressed on the Catholic opposition, Mr Homan stood firm.
“We’re enforcing laws Congress enacted and the President signed. If they don’t like it, change the law.”
Vice-President J.D. Vance, who was also asked about the Catholic pushback in an interview broadcast on Jan 26, accused one group of being worried about losing funds in the immigration crackdown.
“I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognise that when they receive more than US$100 million (S$134 million) to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” he told CBS’ Face the Nation.
All eyes during Mr Trump’s first week in office have been on immigration enforcement and deportations, though it was unclear to what extent actions have increased from predecessor Joe Biden.
ICE said in posts on X that it had made 593 arrests on Jan 24 and 286 arrests on Jan 25.
In the 2024 federal fiscal year, agency data shows ICE made 113,431 arrests, or around 310 a day.
Mr Homan called on Congress to pass additional funding for dealing with those arrested.
“We’re gonna need more ICE beds, a minimum of 100,000. Congress needs to come to the table quick and give us the money we need to secure that border,” he told ABC News.
“We’re going to try to be efficient. But the more money we have, the more we can accomplish.” AFP
