Homan Responds To Trump Signing Laken Riley Act: ‘It’s No Longer An Option’

Border Czar Tom Homan responded on Wednesday to President Donald Trump signing the Laken Riley Act into law, telling Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum that it would have prevented needless bloodshed if such a measure had been put in place earlier.

Homan was present at the signing ceremony for the new bipartisan legislation — named for the brutally-murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley — which will compel federal authorities to arrest and detain non-citizens who have been charged with, convicted of, or admitted to violent or theft-related crimes.

Following the ceremony, he spoke with MacCallum about what he expected to see change as it was implemented.

WATCH:

Border Czar Tom Homan on the Laken Riley Act: "If you're in the country illegally and you get arrested for a crime, you have to detain them. It's no longer an option. If this was in effect during the Biden administration, you wouldn't have seen criminal aliens released every day" pic.twitter.com/DFxrQN2ziU

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 29, 2025

“Obviously an emotional time for her family and for families like hers that you have had too much experience with,” MacCallum began, asking, “What changes with this act? What does it allow law enforcement to do, Tom?”

“Look, it’s required for DHS to actually detain these people,” Homan replied. “So if you commit — if you’re in the country illegally and you get arrested for a crime, you have to detain them. It’s no longer an option. If this was in effect during the Biden administration, you wouldn’t have seen criminal aliens being released every day — by the hundreds every day.”

“So this is going to be — this is a statute, this is a law, you’ve got to detain these people, it’s the right thing to do, to protect people,” Homan continued. “It’s a game changer, this is going to be a very effective action to keep our streets safer from — starting day one.”

Laken Riley’s mother and others were also on hand when Trump signed the act into law, and she thanked the president for being a man of his word. She also noted that while no legislation would ever bring back her daughter, the passage of the Laken Riley Act meant that others might be saved from what she had gone through.