Border czar Tom Homan said on Thursday that the Trump administration needs to be “better at messaging” on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations to push back on what he called “false” legacy media narratives.
Homan told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that recent polls showing growing disapproval for Trump’s massive deportation operations are “egged on by the press.” Recent surveys conducted by the Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, and Quinnipiac show Trump’s approval rating on immigration slipping, despite immigration being one of the top issues that helped him win the 2024 election.
“Tom, are you concerned about the CNN and Quinnipiac polls that show declining public support for ICE and President Trump’s approach to immigration enforcement? Do you think those are accurate, or are they being egged on by the press?” Ingraham asked.
“I think they’re being egged on by the press. I think there’s a lot of false media out there. And I think we need to be better at messaging at what we’re doing,” Homan replied. “Look, bottom line is 70% of everybody arrested is a criminal. We need to start advertising that every single day and put their pictures all over social media.”
“We just gotta push back the lies because a lot of people don’t get the facts,” he added. “And we gotta be better about getting the facts out there.”
As part of gaining an advantage in messaging, Homan also proposed creating a “database” of people who are arrested for impeding ICE operations.
“These people saying, follow ICE, film ICE — you can protest, they have that right. But when you cross that line, and we’ve proven it, if you interfere or impede or assault an ICE officer, you will be prosecuted,” Homan said.
He added that he wants to make people who are arrested for getting in the way of ICE operations “famous” and will have their faces “put on TV.”
“We’re going to make their employers and their communities and their schools know who these people are,” Homan continued.
Following the shooting death of Renee Good last week, protesters have followed ICE around the city, and in some cases, have confronted and impeded federal agents. Protesters in Minnesota were encouraged by Democratic Governor Tim Walz to record ICE activities to help the state “create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans” that could be used for “future prosecutions.”
Demonstrators surrounded federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday night following another ICE shooting, when an agent shot a Venezuelan illegal immigrant in the leg after the agent was attacked by three illegal immigrants, according to the Department of Homeland Security. During the protests following Wednesday night’s shooting, agitators threw fireworks at law enforcement, and authorities had to clear them out of the area with tear gas.
Some federal law enforcement vehicles were also vandalized on Wednesday night, and one video showed agitators breaking into an agent’s equipment box, which was in the back of a vehicle.
“If the hateful rhetoric doesn’t stop, there’s going to be more bloodshed. It’s not over,” Homan said. “What scares me the most is there’s going to be another death.”
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