Trump taps pro-deportation former ICE chief Homan for role of ‘border czar’

US President Donald Trump said that retired acting immigration chief Tom Homan will return to his administration as a “border czar.” Homan is a vocal supporter of the president’s policies to restrict immigration into the US.

In an interview with Fox and Friends on Friday morning, President Trump said Homan would soon take the position and report directly to the White House, though it remains unclear what the job will entail.

“He’ll be a border czar, he’ll be very much involved with the border,” the president said. “He’ll be reporting directly to me” and “working out of the White House, but probably spending a lot of time at the border.”

Homan oversaw deportations for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency under the Barack Obama administration, and briefly worked as acting ICE director for President Trump until last year. When Senate confirmation for the position appeared unlikely, Homan resigned and said he would retire from public service.

President Trump previously floated the idea of creating the new ‘czar’ position, which reportedly would require no Senate confirmation, but the plan has so far remained in limbo.

The former ICE director has attained a reputation, partially through his many appearances as a Fox News contributor, as a major hawk on US immigration policy, calling for ramped up deportations and tighter border controls.

Reacting to the appointment, critics were quick to point out what they consider to be some of Homan’s more strident proposals.

Some reactions were much more supportive, however.

Homan’s appointment comes less than a week after the promotion of Ken Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general and a similarly staunch advocate for tighter border controls, to head up the Citizenship and Immigration Services. The two federal appointments are generally in line with the president’s effort to stem the flow of illegal immigration at the southern border.

Since he took office, President Trump has vowed to address issues at the border, but an unprecedented number of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers entering the country has overwhelmed border agencies and created what acting Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Commissioner John Sanders called a “full-blown emergency.”

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