In an appearance that would make Machiavelli blush, Illinois Democrat Governor J.B. Pritzker took to the airwaves to project the very authoritarianism he claims to despise onto his political rivals.
Speaking on &#8220;Meet the Press Now,&#8221; the billionaire heir didn’t just criticize the Trump administration; he essentially promised a long-term &#8220;lawfare&#8221; campaign against officials who dare to enforce federal immigration law.
Pritzker’s rhetoric was nothing short of a declaration of judicial war. He accused ICE and CBP agents of &#8220;invading&#8221; Chicago and &#8220;tackling&#8221; citizens. But rather than focusing on policy, Pritzker shifted into the role of a vengeful prosecutor.
He touted an &#8220;accountability commission&#8221; tasked with gathering evidence for future trials. The target list? High-ranking officials like Kash Patel, Kristi Noem, and Tom Homan. Pritzker’s chilling promise — &#8220;We are coming after them&#8221; — sounded less like a champion of due process and more like a man orchestrating a political purge. He admitted that while he might not have the power today, he is willing to wait years for a friendly administration to weaponize the courts against these individuals.
The irony reached a fever pitch when the conversation turned to the recent assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. When asked about his own history of inflammatory language, Pritzker suddenly transformed into a paragon of &#8220;civility.&#8221; He somberly lectured that &#8220;all of us need to be very careful about how we speak&#8221; and urged both sides to &#8220;bring the rhetoric down.&#8221; He insisted there is a &#8220;big difference&#8221; between his prior calls for &#8220;peaceful protests&#8221; and the &#8220;authoritarian&#8221; actions of his opponents.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today on Meet the Press Now, JB Pritzker calls President Trump an &quot;authoritarian, and if we are not pushing back every single day, then we&#39;re doing it wrong.&quot;
A few seconds later, Pritzker threatens Trump admin officials: &quot;It may take us a couple of years, in fact, to go after… <a href="https://t.co/UxrRHq1L6R">pic.twitter.com/UxrRHq1L6R</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/2049241692373450788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
However, Pritzker’s newfound commitment to &#8220;soft rhetoric&#8221; is belied by his own recent history. While he stands on the national stage calling for peace, his record tells a different story of provocation. In April, 2025, at the McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner, Pritzker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ive-never-seen-anything-like-it-stephen-miller-blasts-jb-pritzker-for-inciting-violence?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98I%E2%80%99ve+Never+Seen+Anything+Like+It%E2%80%99%3A+Stephen+Miller+Blasts+JB+Pritzker+For+%E2%80%98Inciting+Violence%E2%80%99">dropped the mask</a> of the statesman, explicitly calling for &#8220;mobilization&#8221; and &#8220;disruption.&#8221; He told a cheering crowd, &#8220;These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.&#8221;
This is the Pritzker Paradox: a man who threatens to hunt down government officials through the legal system and tells his followers to harass his opponents, yet has the audacity to blame others for a toxic political climate. By vowing to prosecute his enemies while simultaneously calling for &#8220;softened&#8221; language, Pritzker isn’t fighting authoritarianism — he’s providing a masterclass in it. For the Illinois Governor, &#8220;civility&#8221; is apparently a one-way street, and the law is simply a tool to be stored away until it can be used to bury his enemies.

US-POLITICS-CRIME-TROOPS-CHICAGO

‘We Are Coming After Them’: Democrat Pritzker Threatens Patel, Homan

Illinois

J.B. Pritzker

kash patel

Tom Homan

Trump Administration

In a blistering rebuke of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy, U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan fired back Monday at high-ranking clergy who have criticized the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement and mass deportation policies.
Speaking after several American cardinals echoed the Vatican’s opposition to the administration’s border strategy, Homan — a lifelong Catholic himself — warned the Church to &#8220;stay out of immigration,&#8221; arguing that religious leaders lack a foundational understanding of the &#8220;atrocities&#8221; occurring at the border.
&#8220;I’m not going to speak for the president; I’m speaking for myself,&#8221; Homan said. &#8220;If they wore my shoes for 40 years, and talked to a 9-year-old girl that got raped multiple times, or stood in the back of a tractor-trailer with 19 dead aliens at my feet &#8230; I think their opinion would change.&#8221;
Homan’s comments follow a high-profile &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; <a href="https://www.cathstan.org/voices/in-60-minutes-interview-three-u-s-cardinals-reflect-on-pope-leos-leadership-and-churchs-opposition-to-iran-war-and-mass-deportation?utm_source=chatgpt.com">interview</a> featuring three prominent U.S. cardinals: Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of San Diego, and Joseph Tobin of Newark. During the segment, Cardinal Tobin stood by his previous characterization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a &#8220;lawless organization,&#8221; claiming the agency &#8220;violates guarantees of our Constitution&#8221; to &#8220;terrify people.&#8221;
The religious leaders argued that the administration’s focus on deporting long-term residents has created a climate of fear so pervasive that attendance at Spanish-language Masses has plummeted by 30 percent in some areas. Cardinal McElroy, while conceding that border crossings had grown &#8220;out of control&#8221; under the previous administration, denounced the current &#8220;roundup&#8221; of people who have lived &#8220;good, strong lives&#8221; in the U.S. for years.
&#8220;I would like to know what Catholics feel about this indiscriminate mass deportation,&#8221; Cardinal Cupich added. &#8220;I think that it’s very clear the American people are saying, ‘We really didn’t vote for this.’&#8221;
However, Homan countered that a secure border is the only moral path, claiming President Trump is &#8220;saving thousands of lives&#8221; by putting human traffickers out of business and bankrupting cartels. &#8220;Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,&#8221; Homan said, welcoming a direct debate with the clergy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Border czar Tom Homan, to question on Trump feud with Pope Leo XIV: &quot;I&#39;m speaking for myself, a lifelong Catholic. I wish they&#39;d stay out of immigration…If they understood the atrocities that happen on an open border, I think their opinion would change.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/ZKVgKmy96D">pic.twitter.com/ZKVgKmy96D</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/2044152154944860585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The friction between the White House and the Church has reached all the way to the Vatican. Pope Leo XIV, who, as Bishop Robert Prevost in 2018, retweeted a social media post that stated, “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all,” issued a <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2025/documents/20250210-lettera-vescovi-usa.html#:~:text=Letter%20of%20the%20Holy%20Father,of%20America%20(10%20February%202025)">formal letter</a> to U.S. bishops last year in which he stated, “The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It&#8217;s fascinating to see what social media reveals about a person before they become the Pope.
Before he became Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost was on Twitter trashing Trump, criticizing Vance, calling for open borders, promoting COVID vaccines, endorsing stricter gun… <a href="https://t.co/B60TqSYk7O">pic.twitter.com/B60TqSYk7O</a>
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/2044123715865325932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Despite the forceful opposition from the pulpit, a majority of Catholic voters supported President Trump in the last election, gravitating toward his promises of national security and border integrity — a mandate Homan insists the administration is duty-bound to fulfill, regardless of the Vatican&#8217;s &#8220;critical judgment.&#8221;

Homan Torches Catholic Hierarchy Over Opposition To Trump’s Immigration Policy

Catholic Church

Donald Trump

Illegal Immigration

Pope Leo

Virginia has become a hotbed for illegal immigrant crime following a string of recent murders.
In just over a month, three illegal immigrants have been accused of carrying out brutal killings — including one where the victim was a 3-month-old infant — in Fairfax County, which has notoriously flouted Immigration and Customs Enforcement&#8217;s (ICE) detainers.
President Donald Trump&#8217;s border czar Tom Homan is now calling on sanctuary leaders in the state to get on board to work with ICE. In an appearance on Fox News Thursday, the former ICE director encouraged authorities in the commonwealth to make deals with the feds that mimic Homan&#8217;s agreements in Minneapolis.
&#8220;Elections have consequences,&#8221; Homan said of the recent killings. &#8220;I lived in Virginia. [Virginia Governor Abigail] Spanberger took over and she moved so far left, she&#8217;s not even recognizable anymore. Look, in that city, Fairfax, they&#8217;ve been a sanctuary city. I&#8217;ve been complaining about them for years.&#8221;
&#8220;Sanctuaries are sanctuaries for criminals and for any politician, or chief of police, or the sheriff, they want to say they&#8217;re not gonna enforce federal immigration law, not their job, they can&#8217;t honor ICE detainers, they don&#8217;t think they&#8217;re legal, we can do the same thing we did in Minneapolis. We can do the same thing, talk to the sheriffs, talk to the chiefs. If you don&#8217;t want to honor detainers, I get it we can litigate that in courts,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sanctuary politicians, like <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorVA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovernorVA</a>, REFUSE to put the safety of American citizens first.
It is common sense. Sanctuary politicians must cooperate with <a href="https://twitter.com/ICEgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ICEgov</a> and stop releasing criminals from their jails to create more innocent American victims. <a href="https://t.co/kCo7PttMid">pic.twitter.com/kCo7PttMid</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2039803897850573136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis following the deaths of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Homan took on the role of lowering the temperature with the goal of drawing down the number of federal immigration agents deployed to the Twin Cities.
By the end of his deployment, Homan had brokered what he described as &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; levels of cooperation with authorities in Minnesota, who he said had agreed to hand over illegal immigrants as soon as they were to be released. Homan said at the time that ICE officers would be strategically stationed nearby, so local authorities didn&#8217;t have to hold the inmates longer than local charges would allow.
Homan is now offering to do the same in Virginia.
&#8220;There&#8217;s nothing illegal about you calling ICE before you release them, and we&#8217;ll be there to take custody. You don&#8217;t have to hold them one minute past what you would normally hold them on your charges. Just give us a call, it&#8217;s free, and we&#8217;ll be there. We&#8217;ll even strategically locate deportation officers near those jails,&#8221; he told Fox News host Will Cain.
&#8220;That&#8217;s the success we had in Minneapolis, we got record cooperation there. We can do the same thing in Virginia. But I truly believe they hate Trump more than they care about their public safety because the common sense approach is call us and we&#8217;ll be there and take that public safety threat off the street,&#8221; he added.
Guatemalan illegal immigrant Misael Lopez Gomez, 28, was arrested Friday after he allegedly killed his 3-month-old daughter in Fairfax County, <a href="https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/virginia-dad-charged-medical-examiner-blunt-force-trauma-babys-death/65-97c06d65-4c72-4a5e-b838-f58d095fe4ab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to WUSA9.
Another Guatemalan illegal immigrant, Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, 38, was arrested Sunday after he allegedly repeatedly stabbed a man to death in Fairfax County, <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/baileys-crossroads-deadly-stabbing-murder-anibal-armando-chavarria-muy-charged-fairfax-county-virginia-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to ABC7.
An illegal immigrant with 30 prior arrests was arrested in February after he allegedly fatally stabbed 41-year-old mother Stephanie Minter. The Sierra Leone national, Abdul Jalloh, 32, allegedly left Minter&#8217;s lifeless body at a Fairfax County bus stop when he fled the scene.
ICE has arrested thousands of illegal immigrants in Virginia who pose threats to &#8220;public safety,&#8221; but has had to operate without the help of local authorities, according to Homan.
&#8220;We had to go out and look for them, which is dangerous for the community, dangerous for the officer, dangerous for the alien &#8230; we&#8217;re gonna keep doing it,&#8221; Homan said.
&#8220;Give us custody in your jail before you release them, and you&#8217;re gonna see the crime rate drop significantly,&#8221; he said.

Untitled design – 2026-04-02T165200.193

Homan Calls For A Deal After Sanctuary City Faces String Of Brutal Murders

abigail spanberger

Virginia

Agents with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should start seeing paychecks Monday or Tuesday, but it could still be quite some time before the business of traveling by air returns to business as usual.
Border Czar Tom Homan told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Sunday that he had spoken with newly sworn-in Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about President Donald Trump&#8217;s order — which directed him to pay TSA agents out of preexisting funding — and that they expected agents to see their first paychecks in weeks within the coming days.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Border Czar Tom Homan says TSA agents can expect to be paid &#8220;tomorrow or Tuesday.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/b8XBX11sLC">pic.twitter.com/b8XBX11sLC</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2038245064388858129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Homan also addressed Trump&#8217;s decision to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into airports — a move made to mitigate the chaos of long lines and wait times as the lack of pay led to mass callouts among TSA employees — and said that they may remain in place for a time yet.
&#8220;We’ll see. You know, it depends how many TSA agents come back to work. How many TSA agents have actually quit and have no plan coming back to work? I’m working very closely with TSA administrator and the ICE director to decide what airport needs what,&#8221; Homan told Tapper.
The president issued an executive order on Friday directing Mullin to use funding that had &#8220;a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations&#8221; to ensure that agents received pay. They have not been paid since Democrats voted against funding the Department of Homeland Security some six weeks earlier, forcing a partial government shutdown that has also impacted the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Secret Service.
The Democrats voted to block the DHS funding bill after the deaths of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti during the ICE surge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, despite the fact that ICE agents were still being paid under provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill.
But as Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/2037604682370003061">reported</a>, only frontline ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents are receiving paychecks amid the shutdown.
&#8220;The ICE, Border Patrol, and CBP agents we see in the field are all getting paid via OBBB. HOWEVER &#8230; their professional and civilian support staff are NOT being paid,&#8221; Melugin explained. &#8220;These are people who work the computers, the public affairs offices, and other support staff who aren&#8217;t on the front line making immigration arrests, but are supporting the agents who are. These civilian support staffers haven&#8217;t been paid for almost half of the last six months when you factor in the prior shutdown last fall.&#8221;
In an effort to get the TSA funded, the Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-strikes-overnight-deal-to-pay-tsa-agents-in-bid-to-end-airport-chaos">passed a measure</a> on Thursday that would break the logjam for most of DHS — with the exception of ICE and some parts of Border Patrol. But following President Trump&#8217;s lead, the House rejected the bill.
Neither the Senate bill nor a House bill that would fully fund DHS includes any of the ICE reforms demanded by Democrats, such as a ban on federal immigration agents wearing masks and a provision requiring judicial warrants for immigration enforcement operations.

TSA_Trump

Trump Gets TSA Paid Starting Today As ICE Presence Hinges On One Key Factor

Paychecks Are Coming For The TSA, But When Will Things Get Back To Normal?

Air Travel

Government Shutdown

Politics

Former acting ICE Director and current White House Border Czar Tom Homan blasted congressional Democrats over the ongoing Department of Homeland Security funding standoff, accusing lawmakers of trying to strong-arm policy changes by withholding funding.
Speaking on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; Homan said the dispute is not about budgetary constraints, but about efforts to curb immigration enforcement.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;President Trump wants the entire <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHSgov</a> funded,&#8221; says <a href="https://twitter.com/RealTomHoman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealTomHoman</a>.
&#8220;They&#8217;re holding the department hostage because they don&#8217;t like what ICE is doing — and ICE is enforcing laws they enacted.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/bMDcSIJ7IB">pic.twitter.com/bMDcSIJ7IB</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2038246477261119706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“President Donald Trump wants the entire Department of Homeland Security funded. He wants the government open and funded,” Homan said. “But the bottom line is they want changes in ICE tactics. They want changes in policy.” Homan argued that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is simply carrying out laws that have remained consistent across multiple administrations.
“The same laws ICE follows today have been in place during the Clinton, Obama [administrations], and now,” he said. “The law hasn’t changed.” According to Homan, lawmakers are privately pushing to limit arrests rather than openly advocating for abolishing ICE.
“They can say they don’t want to abolish ICE — I’m in the room,” he said. “They want to change operations so we arrest fewer people.” The remarks come as Congress remains locked in a dispute over DHS funding, with negotiations increasingly tied to immigration enforcement demands. Some lawmakers have pushed for additional oversight measures and operational restrictions, including expanded use of body cameras and clearer guidelines around enforcement locations.
Homan noted that ICE has already engaged in discussions on some of those issues, including funding for body cameras, which he said has been allocated at roughly $120 million. But he rejected claims that agents are routinely targeting sensitive locations such as churches or hospitals.
“They can’t point to a single instance—not one—where we’ve arrested anybody in a church or inside of a hospital,” Homan said. “We already practice discretion. We don’t do operations there unless there’s a significant national security threat.”
He added that while discussions over enforcement practices could continue, they should not come at the expense of funding the department. “Why can’t these discussions continue while we keep the Department of Homeland Security open?” Homan said. “They’re holding the department hostage because they don’t like what ICE is doing.”
At the center of the dispute is a fundamental divide between the House and Senate over whether immigration enforcement agencies should be fully funded. The Senate passed a bipartisan measure to reopen most of DHS but excluded funding for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection, an approach backed by Democrats but rejected by House Republicans. 
House Republicans instead pushed a short-term <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/28/us-house-stopgap-dhs-funding-bill-republicans-senate?">funding bill</a> that includes full funding for ICE, arguing that enforcement agencies should not be carved out of appropriations. That measure passed narrowly but faces strong opposition in the Senate, prolonging the stalemate. 
The deadlock has had tangible consequences across the country. Tens of thousands of DHS employees, particularly Transportation Security Administration workers, have gone without pay for weeks, leading to staffing shortages, airport delays, and mounting pressure on the administration to act. 
President Trump has attempted to mitigate the fallout by signing an emergency order to ensure TSA agents receive pay, which Homan later <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/29/us-news/tom-homan-reveals-when-tsa-will-start-getting-paid-again-following-trumps-executive-order/?">said</a> during the interview “There is a plan to get these TSA agents paid, hopefully by tomorrow or Tuesday,” but many other DHS functions remain affected as lawmakers continue to clash over immigration policy and enforcement reforms. 
Democrats have insisted that any long-term funding deal must include new restrictions or oversight on ICE operations, while Republicans argue that such demands amount to undermining existing law enforcement authority, mirroring the criticism Homan leveled in his interview.
Homan framed the dispute as a fundamental separation-of-powers issue, arguing that Congress should change the law if it disagrees with enforcement outcomes.
“If they don’t like what ICE is doing, then change the law,” he said. “That’s their job.”
As negotiations continue, the standoff underscores a broader clash in Washington over immigration enforcement, one that is increasingly spilling into funding battles with real consequences for federal agencies and the everyday Americans they employ.

Tom Homan Torches Congress As DHS Fight Hits Boiling Point

State of the Union

Border czar Tom Homan detailed the plan to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports beginning on Monday to aid TSA workers in the wake of the ongoing DHS shutdown.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday with host Dana Bash, Homan first explained that he is working with the administrator of TSA and the director of ICE to develop a game plan.
“First of all, are ICE agents even remotely trained to handle security at airports?” Bash asked, to which Homan replied that ICE already operates at airports, and this new wave of agents would be helping in mostly non-specialized security-related areas.
“[We’ve] got TSA agents covering exits — you know, people that enter through the exits. Certainly a highly-trained ICE law enforcement officer can cover an exit, make sure people don&#8217;t … enter the airport through the exits, and stuff like that relieves that TSA officer to go to screening and to reduce those lines,” Homan said. “So, wherever we can provide extra security.”
The border czar went on to note that he doesn’t foresee ICE agents manning X-ray machines because they’re not trained to do so. However, agents can be utilized in broad security roles allowing TSA workers to focus on specialized passenger screening jobs.
Bash pressed Homan on the exact roles ICE agents would fill, but Homan noted that discussions are “a work in progress” and will be finalized by the end of the day Sunday.
“Are there specific airports that you&#8217;re thinking about starting with, and how many ICE agents are you considering deploying to do this?” Bash asked.
While discussions are ongoing, Homan said, he believes airports experiencing the longest TSA wait times should be the priority.
Bash pressed Homan on timing: “With respect, if you&#8217;re doing this in 24 hours, how well thought out could it possibly be again?”
Homan hit back: “How much of a plan does it mean to guard an exit to make sure no one comes through that exit?”
“And we were talking about security options, and these officers are well trained in security, and they&#8217;re well trained in identification, and we&#8217;re going to do what we can to help TSA move those people to the line,” the border czar added.
Bash attempted to catch Homan at the end of the segment, asking him: “Is it just going to be crowd control, or will ICE officers also be doing immigration enforcement while they are at the airport?”
“We do immigration enforcement at airports all the time,” Homan replied. “So it&#8217;s not going to change. This is about helping the men and women with TSA. They&#8217;ve lost several hundred employees; the lines are really slow because the shutdown. This is about going to helping TSA do their mission and get the American public through that airport as quick as they can while adhering to all the security guidelines and the protocols.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEWS: White House Border Czar Tom Homan confirms President Trump will send ICE agents into airports across the country tomorrow. &#8220;We&#8217;ll have a plan by the end of today what airports we&#8217;re starting with and where we&#8217;re sending them,&#8221; Homan tells <a href="https://twitter.com/DanaBashCNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DanaBashCNN</a>. <a href="https://t.co/Ue2VNlpKw6">pic.twitter.com/Ue2VNlpKw6</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/2035707177583747455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Department of Homeland Security shutdown has been ongoing since February 14, leaving TSA agents — as well as FEMA and the Coast Guard — without pay. As a result, over 300 TSA agents have quit and lines at major airports across the country have begun to extend dramatically.
On Friday, the <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/tsa-wait-times-update-airports-delays-friday-11709401">wait</a> at Atlanta&#8217;s Hartsfield-Jackson — the busiest airport in the United States — surged beyond two hours during the morning travel rush, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, saw 90-minute wait times with one checkpoint closed altogether. Shocking videos circulating on social media have shown lines stretching significantly longer in recent days as the shutdown drags on.
President Trump recently blasted Democrats on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116268396341038197">Truth Social</a> over the shutdown: “What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace. If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before! The Fascist Democrats will never protect America, but the Republicans will.”

Tom Homan Lays Out What Americans Can Expect As ICE Moves Into Airports Monday

Dana Bash

Department of Homeland Security

General

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

U.S.

President Donald Trump has tapped Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to serve as his next Secretary of Homeland Security, but the question remains: can he salvage the agency&#8217;s reputation and its mass deportation effort?
Leading up to the firing of outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the department faced backlash for its handling of immigration sweeps across major cities. In Minneapolis, it all came to a head after the fatal shootings of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.
At the time, Noem tagged Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists, drawing backlash from both sides of the aisle for getting ahead of federal probes.
In an attempt to clean up the situation, Trump sent his border czar, Tom Homan, into the Twin Cities to change the course of immigration raids and to quell chaos in the streets. In doing so, Trump replaced Noem ally Gregory Bovino, of Border Patrol, who was known for his aggressive tactics of carrying out roving patrols.
Homan changed all that, putting the focus on nabbing the worst criminals first.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Asked how Noem and Mullin differ, Homan says Mullin “doesn’t know the immigration game very well,” but is relying on “people with 30, 40 years of experience to guide him,” adding: “That’s the way it should be.” <a href="https://t.co/x7QQkHDEH2">pic.twitter.com/x7QQkHDEH2</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2034364253470183456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On Wednesday, Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Homan how <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rand-paul-confronts-mullin-over-anger-issues-after-freaking-snake-jab?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rand+Paul+Confronts+Mullin+Over+%E2%80%98Anger+Issues%E2%80%99+After+%E2%80%98Freaking+Snake%E2%80%99+Jab">Mullin</a> would differ from Noem as secretary.
The former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director said that while Mullin “doesn’t know the immigration game very well,” he&#8217;s relying on “people with 30, 40 years of experience to guide him,” adding: “That’s the way it should be.”
Mullin faced a grilling from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, where he was asked about how he would  &#8220;reform&#8221; ICE. The Oklahoma lawmaker admitted that there&#8217;s a need for &#8220;a better approach,&#8221; adding, &#8220;I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the frontline.&#8221;
&#8220;If we can get back into just simply working with law enforcement, we&#8217;re going to them and we&#8217;re picking up these criminals from their jail. One, we&#8217;re gonna reimburse them for having the person there and that partnership is vitally important,&#8221; he said.
During a recent hearing, Noem defended DHS&#8217; use of &#8220;administrative immigration warrants,&#8221; which aren&#8217;t signed by a judge, to enter homes. She said they&#8217;ve only been used to enter homes in 28 instances.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pressed-at-dhs-hearing-markwayne-mullin-walks-back-deranged-comment-about-alex-pretti?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Pressed+At+DHS+Hearing%2C+Markwayne+Mullin+Walks+Back+%E2%80%98Deranged%E2%80%99+Comment+About+Alex+Pretti">Mullin</a> suggested that would change.
&#8220;We will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial warrant, unless we&#8217;re pursuing the individual that runs into a place of business or a house,&#8221; Mullin said during Wednesday&#8217;s hearing.
When it comes to sanctuary cities, Mullin indicated that his approach would involve holding discussions with their leaders to find common ground. When Trump sent Homan into Minneapolis, he changed Noem&#8217;s approach to pressuring sanctuary cities from the vantage point of television appearances and instead sat down with local sheriffs brokering deals that promoted better cooperation with ICE.
Homan&#8217;s actions led to a drawdown of thousands of Homeland Security agents deployed to Minneapolis.
&#8220;If they&#8217;re not willing to enforce federal law and work with us, then where&#8217;s the taxpayer dollars going to?&#8221; Mullin said.
&#8220;And ideally, I would like to go in there and talk to the mayors. I&#8217;d like to go in there and talk to the sheriffs, talk to the police chiefs, say what is your concerns, how can we get past this? Because the president has made it very clear, he wants to protect the streets for every American. He wants to restore law and order to every city. I don&#8217;t think that should be controversial,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;So maybe we sit down and we just work it out,&#8221; Mullin said, adding, &#8220;If we have to do something different, then we will, but that&#8217;s where I&#8217;m going to start at.&#8221;
Asked if he would withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities and states, Mullin signaled it &#8220;would be a last option,&#8221; adding that &#8220;at the end of the day, taxpayer dollars have to be used for the right purposes and if people are refusing to enforce the nation&#8217;s laws, then I think it&#8217;s really hard to justify why we&#8217;re sending them taxpayer dollars.&#8221;
&#8220;That is not going to be my first or second or even third approach, but that would be my last resort,&#8221; Mullin said.
Noem&#8217;s firing came after she blamed Trump for questionable $200 million TV ad contracts that promoted deportations and border security.
Hours before ousting Noem, Trump told Reuters that he had no knowledge of the expensive contracts.
Noem testified during a heated Congressional hearing that the contracts “went out to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.”
The contracts were awarded using “other than full and open competition” to a company formed days before, according to records recently obtained by The Daily Wire. That company then subcontracted the work to an organization headed by the husband of Noem’s former spokeswoman.
It now appears that Mullin wants to salvage the reputation of the department in the wake of Noem&#8217;s missteps.
&#8220;I hope that I&#8217;m not on the news six months from now every day,&#8221; Mullin said during Wednesday&#8217;s hearing.
&#8220;I hope DHS is just able to be laser focused on doing their job and it isn&#8217;t controversial about taking care of the homeland. I hope people have confidence in our agency again and I&#8217;m going to work every day to restore that,&#8221; Mullin said.
Mullin&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mullin-dhs-nomination-clears-committee-after-democrat-breaks-ranks?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Mullin+DHS+Nomination+Clears+Committee+After+Democrat+Breaks+Ranks">nomination</a> passed a committee vote Thursday and is headed to the Senate floor.

Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For DHS Secretary Nominee Markwayne Mullin

How Will Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign Change If Markwayne Mullin Becomes DHS Secretary?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Kristi Noem

Markwayne Mullin

Border Czar Tom Homan responded forcefully on Sunday to questions about Department of Homeland Security funding, arguing that Democrat demands on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are unreasonable.
Appearing on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Homan was asked about which demands from the Democrats he and the Trump administration would consider as the White House and Congress battle over DHS funding.
“Among other things, they&#8217;d like to require immigration agents to show identification, wear body cameras, take off their masks, stop racial profiling, and seek judicial warrants to enter private property. Which, if any, of those asks is the president, are you willing to consider adopting?” host Ed O’Keefe asked.
After noting that he’s not part of the ongoing negotiations, Homan shut down the notion that ICE is racially profiling and argued that many of the requests are non-starters.
“When they say, ‘stop racial profiling,’ that&#8217;s just not occurring. ICE will detain, briefly detain, and question somebody based on reasonable suspicion — [it] has nothing to do with racial profiling,” Homan said.
“As far as a mask … I don&#8217;t like the masks either, but because [assaults] against ICE officers are up over 1,500%, and threats are up over 8,000%, these men and women have to protect themselves,” the border czar added.
Homan further noted that while immigration agents do identify which agency they’re from, they simply don’t provide their names.
“Why don’t they talk about maybe passing legislation to make it illegal to dox agents or something like that,” Homan said. “But the masks right now are for officer safety reasons.”
O’Keefe pressed, noting that law enforcement elsewhere don’t wear masks.
“You know, cops go out every day, everywhere across the country,&#8221; he said, asking why ICE has to &#8220;wear all that and protect themselves when there are others out there wearing badges that don&#8217;t have to do that?”
Homan pushed back strongly.
“I don&#8217;t know of another law enforcement agency in the country that has an 8,000% increase in threats. Just yesterday, the director of ICE, his wife was filmed walking to work, his home address has been doxed, his kids have been doxed and filmed,” Homan said. “And look, let&#8217;s remember why we&#8217;re here. We&#8217;re here because the last four years, over ten million illegal aliens crossed that border, released into this country unvetted. ICE has to do a law enforcement response to deal with the last four years of open borders, where they claim the border was secure every day and it wasn’t.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan says some demands by congressional Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security are “unreasonable.”
“They want to say, &#8216;stop racial profiling.&#8217; That&#8217;s just not occurring,” Homan says. He adds “I don’t like the masks” on ICE… <a href="https://t.co/pT5xnHaWf1">pic.twitter.com/pT5xnHaWf1</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2023067944717070671?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tom Homan Joins White House Press Briefing

Homan Dismisses Democrat Demands About ICE: ‘These Men And Women Have To Protect Themselves’

Congress

Deportations

Democrats in Minnesota want the public to believe that ICE Watch groups that impeded federal agents from arresting illegal immigrants forced President Donald Trump to end &#8220;Operation Metro Surge,&#8221; his massive immigration sweeps across the state.
After White House border czar Tom Homan announced the operation would end Thursday, several Democratic officials in the state pushed the narrative that anti-ICE agitators were successful in their efforts and forced the withdrawal.
Notably, Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last month in Minneapolis, was reportedly a member of an ICE watch group. Alex Pretti, the man shot a few weeks later by Border Patrol, was also an anti-ICE activist who was seen on video kicking in a fed&#8217;s taillight before spitting on one of the officers.
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar came out Thursday to credit anti-ICE demonstrators, while also saying the work must continue.
&#8220;Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked. Our state has shown the world how to protect our democracy and take care of our neighbors,&#8221; Klobuchar said.
She continued: &#8220;ICE withdrawing from Minnesota is just the beginning. We need accountability for the lives lost and the extraordinary abuses of power at the hands of ICE agents, and we must see a complete overhaul of the agency.&#8221;
Most of the 3,000 federal agents deployed to the Twin Cities will soon return home, while the roughly 150 feds who were there before the operation started will remain. Additionally, the agents tasked with investigating fraud cases and others deployed to crack down on anti-ICE agitators will also stay, Homan said.
<div id="attachment_1043563" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1043563" class="wp-image-1043563 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2257841937-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2257841937-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2257841937-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2257841937-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2257841937.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Several members of the Minneapolis City Council also concurred with Klobuchar.
&#8220;Our community came together and pushed back an occupation of our city by the authoritarian Trump regime. A drawdown of this magnitude is something for our neighbors to be proud of. But we need ICE fully out of our city, not just reduced,&#8221; Aisha Chughtai, a member of the Minneapolis City Council, said.
&#8220;We need to stay organized and vigilant,&#8221; Chughtai said. &#8220;As a community, I hope we keep our arms wrapped around each other. The devastation caused by Operation Metro Surge cannot be quantified. We will need each other on the long road of recovery and healing ahead. Recovery starts with real transparency from all the individuals involved in this agreement. Minnesotans deserve transparency to be able to have accountability.&#8221;
Jason Chavez, Minneapolis City Council Member, called Homan&#8217;s announcement a &#8220;victory,&#8221; led by &#8220;the city&#8217;s residents, whose resilience, strength, and dedication led to the announcement that ‘Operation Metro Surge’ will end soon.&#8221;
&#8220;But we must not stop until ICE is completely abolished, and no more families are separated. I hope you’ll join me in continuing to carry the whistle of resistance, as our work is not done. I am still asking the community to remain cautious and vigilant until we can confirm what this truly means. We are still mourning, demanding justice, and we will never forget,&#8221; Chavez said.
One of the most prominent ICE watch organizations in Minnesota, Defend the 612, also took a victory lap.
“Minnesota is a state where neighbors have chosen to keep our neighbors safe. Minneapolis has become safer because tens of thousands of neighbors united together in common purpose to openly and courageously respond to the violent and immoral ICE surge day after day. At our schools, our hospitals, on our streets, and on our blocks,&#8221; Andrew Fahlstrom, an organizer with the group, said.
&#8220;If violent abductors truly leave town, having failed to intimidate or stop our community, the 612 has shown what it takes to truly become a Sanctuary City, in a Sanctuary State. We are all incredibly proud of what we continue to do together and build together. Nothing will ever stop the people of Minneapolis from protecting our neighbors.”
Homan said the decision to draw down the federal presence in Minnesota was motivated by &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; cooperation from local authorities, who have agreed to hand over illegal immigrants set to be released from jails.
The former ICE chief, however, made clear that the withdrawal doesn&#8217;t mean &#8220;we are backing down from immigration enforcement or mass deportations.&#8221;

Federal Agents Descend On Minneapolis For Immigration Enforcement Operations

Dems Try To Credit ICE Agitators With Ending Trump’s ‘Operation Metro Surge’ In Minnesota

Immigration

Minnesota

ICE officers are leaving Minnesota as “Operation Metro Surge” comes to an end, Department of Homeland Security funding is set to run dry on Saturday, and an “illegal immigrant enclave” in Texas agrees to a $68 million settlement.
It’s Friday, February 13, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/operation-metro-surge-ends-colony-ridge-caves-2-13-26/id1576594336?i=1000749572130" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Homan Announces End To ‘Operation Metro Surge’</h2>
Border czar Tom Homan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-end-ices-operation-metro-surge-in-minnesota-homan-says">announced</a> the end of “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota on Thursday. 
Homan said he is satisfied with his meetings with local authorities and has sufficient cooperation to conclude the operation, which means officers and agents flown in from across the country will return to their home offices. More police chiefs and sheriffs are apparently on board with honoring ICE detainers, and ICE will be readily available and stationed near jails to pick up inmates, rather than forcing local jurisdictions to hold them longer than necessary. 
Homan added that President Donald Trump greenlit the decision. Homan’s announcement is the big step toward Trump’s softer approach toward interior immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Congress Stares Down Another Shutdown</h2>
Homeland Security <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homeland-security-shutdown-likely-as-schumer-accuses-trump-admin-of-thuggery?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Homeland+Security+Shutdown+Likely+As+Schumer+Accuses+Trump+Admin+Of+%E2%80%98Thuggery%E2%80%99">seems</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-will-shut-down-the-department-of-homeland-security-this-week-white-house-says?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Democrats+Will+Shut+Down+The+Department+Of+Homeland+Security+This+Week%2C+White+House+Says">poised</a> to experience a lapse in government funding on Saturday at midnight amid an intense debate on immigration reforms. 
A test vote in the Senate to see if there was enough support to pass another continuing resolution failed on Thursday afternoon. The House has gone home, but members could be asked to return if a deal is reached. 
Democrats have not appeared pleased with the White House&#8217;s counteroffer on immigration reform. Details on that counteroffer are still fairly unclear. Democrats want an end to masking for agents and a change in warrants. Warrants are likely to be the hottest topic among the changes, as shifting from administrative to judicial warrants for many of these arrests could make the process much more difficult.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump DOJ Settles Colony Ridge Suit</h2>
A settlement has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/colony-ridge-agrees-to-pay-68-million-in-penalties-for-illegal-immigrant-haven?author=Brent+Scher&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Colony+Ridge+Agrees+To+Pay+%2468+Million+In+Penalties+For+%E2%80%98Illegal+Immigrant+Haven%E2%80%99">reached</a> in the lawsuit against Colony Ridge, the massive Texas development that became a magnet for illegal immigrants. 
Colony Ridge was hailed by the developers as the fastest-growing development in the whole United States. But it wasn&#8217;t just a big development. The business model that The Daily Wire helped to uncover was that its marketing strategy was aimed exclusively at illegal immigrants, or at least foreign populations. 
Ultimately, the Biden administration sued the developer over loans and the marketing strategy. The Trump administration is now jointly settling this lawsuit with Texas&#8217;s Republican attorney general. The settlement reached lays the groundwork not only to put an end to the scheme but also to provide a major boost to the surrounding communities affected by it. The settlement is $68 million, not payments to anyone, but payments to fix what they created at Colony Ridge.

Border Czar Tom Homan Speaks In Minneapolis During Operation Metro Surge

Morning Brief: ICE Backs Down In Minnesota, A Shutdown Looms, & Colony Ridge Agrees To $68M Settlement

Colony Ridge

Morning Wire

Texas

The end is near for the Trump administration&#8217;s &#8220;Operation Metro Surge&#8221; in Minnesota.
After more than 4,000 arrests, many of the thousands of ICE and Border Patrol personnel sent to the Twin Cities from other areas of the country will soon return to their home offices, White House border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday.
Homan came to the decision with the support of President Donald Trump after seeing &#8220;success&#8221; with the operation, which has led to a significant drop in criminal illegal immigrants roaming the streets, &#8220;unprecedented levels of coordination&#8221; from local officials, and a decrease in anti-ICE agitator activity, he said. It also resulted in federal authorities tracking down 3,364 missing migrant kids who previously crossed the border alone.
&#8220;I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that the surge operation conclude,&#8221; Homan said during a press conference in Minneapolis.
But it doesn&#8217;t mean the Trump administration is backing down from its goal of carrying out a historic mass deportation campaign, he said. It also doesn&#8217;t mean ICE is leaving for good.
&#8220;A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue through the next week,&#8221; Homan said. &#8220;We have a lot of work to do across this country to remove public safety risks who shouldn&#8217;t even be in this country and to deliver on President Trump&#8217;s promise for strong border security and mass deportation. Law enforcement officers drawn down from this operation will either return to the duty station or be assigned elsewhere to achieve just that.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING: HOMAN announces that he and Trump have agreed to end ICE&#8217;s &#8216;Operation Metro Surge&#8217; In Minnesota
ICE will still have a &#8220;footprint&#8221; in the Twin Cities that will include teams to prioritize arresting criminal illegal immigrants and violent agitators <a href="https://t.co/DOzHmoXbJk">pic.twitter.com/DOzHmoXbJk</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2021954564791140736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;For those who say we are backing down from immigration enforcement or mass deportations, you are simply wrong, look at the data,&#8221; he said.
While the drawdown continues, &#8220;a small footprint of personnel will remain&#8221; temporarily &#8220;to close out and transition full command and control back to the&#8221; local ICE office. That includes teams deployed to quell street violence and agents investigating fraud.
Homan also said he&#8217;s directed the &#8220;strategic&#8221; placement of officers near local jails in Minnesota to ensure they&#8217;re able to swiftly receive illegal immigrants that local authorities must release.
&#8220;Federal government personnel assigned to conduct criminal investigations into the agitators, as well as the personnel assigned for the fraud investigations, will remain in place until the work is done. I will also remain on the ground for a little longer to oversee the drawdown of this operation and ensure its success,&#8221; Homan said.
Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis last month to assume control over the operation, replacing Border Patrol&#8217;s Gregory Bovino. Bovino was known for his showy operations, where he waltzed around the Twin Cities flanked by burly federal agents and conducted aggressive roving patrols.
Homan came in and changed all of that, instructing federal agents to prioritize hardened criminals before nabbing anyone whose sole crime is being in the country illegally. The former ICE chief, however, made clear from the start that it didn&#8217;t mean that illegal immigrants without rap sheets were off the table.
Homan passionately emphasized that point during Thursday&#8217;s presser.
&#8220;I hear all the hate about you should arrest everybody. We are, but we&#8217;re prioritizing those who are the biggest threat to our community, the rapist, the murderers, the child molesters. That’s the right thing to do, but I’ll say it again. Present Trump made a promise of mass deportation, and that’s what this country’s gonna get,&#8221; Homan said.
&#8220;If you&#8217;re in this country illegally, you&#8217;re not off the table,&#8221; he said.

Border Czar Tom Homan Speaks To The Press In Minneapolis

Trump To End ICE’s ‘Operation Metro Surge’ In Minnesota, Homan Says

Minneapolis

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons revealed Tuesday that police in Minnesota arrested dozens of anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis overnight, signaling a massive change in support from local authorities after the arrival of White House border czar Tom Homan.
Lyons made the revelation at a House Homeland Security hearing while being questioned by Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, who attributed the change in local authorities finally supporting ICE to the recent arrival of Homan after weeks of leaving them to fend off violent agitators themselves.
President Donald Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis last month to replace Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino — known for his aggressive and sweeping immigration raids — after the fatal shootings of two anti-ICE activists.
Bovino&#8217;s tactics, along with sanctuary laws and anti-ICE &#8220;rhetoric on the Left &#8230; created the perfect storm&#8221; for a surge in attacks on ICE agents, McCaul explained.
&#8220;Your officers are not trained to effectuate crowd control; they are trained to move and surgically go in to remove these dangerous, violent criminals from the United States of America. I&#8217;ve called for de-escalation after the two deaths, the two shootings that took place. I believe that these roving patrols should be done at the border rather than in the major cities of the United States,&#8221; McCaul said while addressing Lyons.
Since Homan&#8217;s arrival in Minneapolis, he has held meetings with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and local police chiefs. Those meetings have resulted in “unprecedented” cooperation from local authorities in Minnesota, leading to a &#8220;drawdown&#8221; of 700 federal agents that Homan announced last week.
&#8220;And what has been done since Mister Homan came into the job &#8230; We now have targeted law enforcement operations, he’s returning to the original mission of ICE. He is working with state locals to do the crowd control. He is getting them to honor the ICE detainers. He is also getting the body cameras put on them and the roving patrols, in his words, to me should be done at the border, not in major cities,&#8221; McCaul said.
McCaul then asked Lyons how things have changed on the ground in Minneapolis since Homan&#8217;s arrival.
&#8220;So we’ve seen a de-escalation in the fact that the protests, while they still go on, have subsided, and ICE has been allowed to do their targeted intelligence-driven enforcement operation. Just last night, local authorities arrested 54 protesters at the local level, where ICE officers did not have to be engaged,&#8221; Lyons said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/RepMcCaul?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepMcCaul</a> says he believes Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino&#8217;s presence in Minneapolis &#8220;escalated the situation&#8221; in Minneapolis.
With Homan&#8217;s arrival, McCaul says order has been restored.
Acting ICE Director responds, saying that since Homan&#8217;s arrival, protests have… <a href="https://t.co/dajDyOQBBn">pic.twitter.com/dajDyOQBBn</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2021260654787572114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

White House Border Czar Tom Homan Speaks To Media At White House

The Homan Effect: Local Minnesota Police Finally Begin To Arrest Anti-ICE Agitators

Local Minnesota Police Finally Arresting Anti-ICE Agitators, ICE Chief Reveals

Menu