Border Czar Says Enforcement Operations Must Refrain From Sweeping Raids To 'Keep the Faith of the American People'

Border czar Tom Homan has argued that immigration enforcement should prioritize immigrants with criminal records rather than rely on broad sweeps, warning that a failure to focus on those cases could erode public support for deportation efforts.

In an interview for the forthcoming book Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump's Mass Deportation Program, Homan said enforcement strategy matters as much as enforcement scale.

"I think the vast majority of the American people think criminal illegal aliens need to leave. And if we stick to that prioritization, I think we keep the faith of the American people," he said, as NBC News reports. Homan added that officers should act "in a humane manner" and said stories involving arrests of asylum seekers who followed legal entry processes could lead people to "question what we're doing more."

• Kristi Noem Softens Rhetoric Amid Minnesota Fallout: 'We Can Always Do Better'
• ICE Tells Officers to 'Not Engage With Agitators' in Minnesota After Fatal Shootings
• Federal Immigration Agents Involved in Violent Encounters Have Left at Least 4 People Dead Over the Past 6 Months

His comments contrasted with sweeping operations led at the time by Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, whose teams conducted large-area workplace and neighborhood raids in Los Angeles and later other cities, triggering protests and legal challenges.

Bovino was removed in January from his leadership role in Minneapolis after two fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents — the deaths of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good — intensified scrutiny of enforcement tactics and crowd-control operations. Homan was then brought in to lead operations in Minneapolis, where he moved to scale back the federal presence and said enforcement would shift toward a more targeted approach.

Homan has also stressed that prioritizing criminals does not mean others are exempt. "If you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table. If we find you while we're out there looking, you're going to be arrested," he said, describing what agents call collateral arrests.

According to the DHS document obtained by CBS News and published on Monday, ICE made roughly 393,000 arrests in the president's first year back in office but fewer than 14% of total arrests involved violent offenses. About 40% of those arrested had no criminal record and were held on civil immigration violations.

Public opinion surveys also seem to echo Homan's concerns, especially after the fatal shootings involving immigration agents in Minneapolis. A Quinnipiac University poll found 63% of voters disapprove of how ICE is enforcing immigration laws, and 61% said the administration has not given an honest account of one of the shootings. A separate NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found 65% of Americans say ICE has "gone too far."

© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.