Former ICE Acting Director Tom Homan speaks at an event for Angel Families and sheriffs outside the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 25, 2019. The group of loved ones who have lost their lives to illegal immigrants is called “Angel Families.”
In a recent interview with the Epoch Times, Tom Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said the new administration’s move to limit immigration enforcement standards is “ridiculous,” and that “it’s almost as if it’s no longer illegal to be in the United States It’s almost as if it’s no longer illegal to be in the United States.
Homan retired during the Trump administration after leading ICE, an agency that manages immigration enforcement and deportations, as well as investigates human trafficking and cross-border crime.
He said in a Feb. 18 interview that he fears the Biden administration will render the U.S. Immigration Act meaningless.
According to new enforcement priorities announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Feb. 18, ICE will focus on enforcing three categories of illegal immigrants: known, or suspected, national security threats such as terrorists; those who cross the border illegally after Nov. 1, 2020; and those convicted of felonies involving public safety threats.
Under the regulations, any ICE member who encounters an illegal immigrant who does not fall into one of these three categories must receive pre-approval from their field office before taking any action.
Homan: Worst case scenario for immigration enforcement
“They say it’s public safety, but that only involves the worst-case scenario, which involves only assault, robbery and theft.” Homan said.
“And all of these other crimes that are involved, they’ve taken off the table and they’ve pretty much sent a message to the rest of the world that it’s OK to enter this country illegally and as long as you don’t commit some of the most serious crimes, you’re free to stay because ICE isn’t looking for you.”
Homan believes that crimes such as drunk driving should be considered a public safety issue.
“I used to be a police officer. I know what it’s like to be at the scene of a fatal DUI, and it’s horrible. And they obviously never talked to angel moms (note: moms of victims who lost their lives to illegal immigrants) or angel dads whose children were killed by illegal aliens who were driving under the influence.” Homan said.
ICE’s new guidelines are designed to help the agency focus its limited resources on cases of public concern, according to DHS officials. The official said ICE arrests are not expected to drop under the new guidelines.
But Homan said, “Every crime committed by an illegal immigrant is a preventable crime. If we had real border security, real immigration enforcement, if we actually enforced immigration laws in this country and secured our borders, there are thousands of crimes every day that could be prevented.”
According to ICE’s 2020 year-end report, ICE deported approximately 186,000 people, 92 percent of whom had criminal convictions, or pending criminal charges, including: 1,837 homicides, 37,247 assaults, 10,302 sexual assaults, or criminal charges, or convictions for sexual offenses.
The report shows that ICE made more than 103,000 arrests, only 30 percent fewer than in 2019, despite the restrictions of the Epidemic.
Homan: DHS wants ICE to ignore deportation orders
Under previous regulations, ICE was required to track and deport 672,000 fugitives who had been ordered deported by a federal immigration judge but were still in the United States.
But the new DHS directive says that ICE must first get permission from a supervisor if it encounters an unconvicted illegal immigrant during an operation to decide whether to arrest the person, taking into account whether the person may be suffering from a serious physical or mental illness.
“We want ICE to consider ties to the community, whether the (illegal immigrant) individual has Family in the U.S., U.S. citizen family members, and other considerations.” DHS officials said.
Homan said DHS is telling ICE agents to ignore the immigration judge’s deportation order. “At what point can the executive branch tell the judicial branch that their legal orders mean nothing?” He said.
“It’s ridiculous that law enforcement officers have to ask their superiors for approval to enforce the law. The law is black and white. The (Department of Homeland Security) designates that state troopers need to be approved to write speeding tickets.”
Homan: Biden’s approach will never solve the immigration crisis
After taking office, Biden successively canceled several border policies implemented by Trump, including: suspending deportation of illegal immigrants, revoking the travel ban on terror-prone countries, halting the construction of the border wall, and introducing a program of Amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
In response, Homan asserted that Biden’s approach would “never solve the immigration crisis and result in a border that will continue to spiral out of control. He predicted that a humanitarian crisis at the border is imminent.
“During the last surge (in 2019), the Border Patrol said that 50 to 60 percent of their manpower was no longer on the border because they were replacing manpower, going into hospitals to enforce, taking care of families, when half or more of their agents were no longer on the line.”
Homan noted, “During the first spike in 2014 and 2015, Biden was the vice president, and how did we stop (the spike in illegal immigration at the border) then? We stopped it by building detention facilities and detaining people until they saw a judge. So he’s forgotten all the lessons.”
And the Justice Department pick who will run the immigration court system doesn’t seem to be aware of the problem of illegal immigration.
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 22, Biden’s attorney general nominee, Merrick Garland (D-Mass.), was asked if he thought it was a crime to enter the United States illegally.
Garland replied, “I haven’t thought about it, but I think the president has made it clear that we are a nation with borders and have concerns about national security.”
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