The wheels of justice are turning again as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has resumed its enforcement of immigration laws with vigor.
Tom Homan, the former ICE acting director and now Trump’s border czar, told Fox News’ John Roberts on Tuesday that ICE raids have already begun.
“Based on your initial schedule that today, roundups of criminal, illegal aliens in the process of deporting them would begin,” Roberts began. “It seems to have been put on hold for a little while. When can we expect that to happen? Where will it begin?”
“No, it started,” Homan clarified. “All these teams are out there as of today. We gave them the direction to prioritize public safety threats that we're looking for. So we've been working on the target list.”
ROBERTS: "Round ups of criminal illegal aliens and the process of reporting them would begin.... When can we expect that to happen?"
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025
HOMAN: "It's started. ICE teams are out there as of today." pic.twitter.com/k6ujXRoyxw
Homan also appeared on CNN to talk about the efforts to deport illegals and told CNN’s Dana Bash that after years of being hamstrung, ICE officers are back to doing their job.
“ICE is out there enforcing the law today,” Homan said. He emphasized that their primary focus is on public safety threats. “That will be our priority right out of the gate.”
Homan made it clear that these operations are anything but random. “I wouldn’t call them raids,” he said. “They’re targeted enforcement operations. They know exactly who they’re looking for... These are well-planned operations. They’re well-investigated.”
While he didn’t reveal specific locations, citing officer safety concerns, he confirmed, “This happens throughout the nation.”
When pressed on who ICE is targeting, Homan didn’t mince words: “It’s people in the country illegally who have a criminal conviction, that makes them a public safety threat—that’s our priority.” ICE officers, he explained, rely on detailed investigative work. They track individuals on the non-detained docket — those who fail to show up in court, violate deportation orders, or have been involved in violent crimes.
But Homan also highlighted a significant challenge that these sanctuary cities pose. In these jurisdictions, local jails refuse to cooperate with ICE, forcing officers to track down dangerous individuals in neighborhoods instead of the safer confines of a jail.
“It’s safer for the community, safer for the officers, and safer for the alien,” Homan explained. “But when you release a public safety threat from a sanctuary jail and won’t give us access to them, that means we’ve got to go to the neighborhood to find them — and we will find them.”
Of course, Homan didn’t shy away from addressing the reality that non-criminal illegals may get arrested and deported as well. “When we find them, they may be with others, others who don’t have a criminal conviction but are in the country illegally. They will be arrested too,” he confirmed.
“ICE is going to enforce the immigration law,” he said. “There’s nothing in the Immigration and Nationality Act that says you’ve got to be convicted of a serious crime to be removed from this country.”
Bash was less than thrilled about this.
“Let me just make sure I understand what you’re saying,” she said. “At first, you said the first targets are those with criminal records, but you’re also saying that those who are undocumented in the U.S. — who don’t have criminal records, people who are working in their communities, maybe even have spouses who are American citizens — they could be swept up with ICE today as well.”
Homan made no apologies for this.
“What I’m telling you is, when we go find our priority target, which is a criminal alien, if he’s with others in the United States illegally, we’re going to take enforcement action against them,” he said. “We’re going to enforce the immigration law.”
Here's my full interview with White House Border Czar Tom Homan. pic.twitter.com/zmBq7lUC8L
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) January 21, 2025
Homan’s message is clear: ICE is back in business, and the agency is finally able to do the job it was meant to do. For those concerned about law and order, it’s a long-overdue shift in priorities. The days of turning a blind eye to illegal immigration are over.
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