The appointment of former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Thomas Homan as Donald Trump's upcoming border czar continues to dominate the headlines, especially considering his fiery rhetoric and willingness to conduct swift operations from his first moment in office.
On Monday, Homan himself announced plans to increase workplace immigration raids as part of a broad crackdown and shares of private prison stocks such as The Geo Group and CoreCivic soared, fueled by investor expectations of increased demand for detention services and stricter immigration enforcement.
Homan appeared on Fox News on the same day, suggesting that undocumented immigrants should consider "self-deporting" in anticipation of the next administration's planned immigration enforcement measures.
"Criminals and gang members get no grace period," Homan said. "While we're out prioritizing the public safety threats and national security threats, if you wanna self-deport, you should self-deport because, again, we know who you are, and we're gonna come and find you." He then added:
"So if you wanna self-deport, that's fine. But criminals and gang members, they get no favors from this administration. You came to this country illegally, which is a crime. You committed crimes against United States citizens, some heinous crimes. You get no grace period. So we're coming for you"
Homan: For the others, the non criminals, you want to self deport, I'm all for it. They can put everything in order..
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 12, 2024
Hannity: How are the going to get home? pic.twitter.com/NedVHKIAUS
Homan previously led ICE when the agency held a record number of migrant children in custody. His tenure included policies targeting undocumented guardians who came forward to care for unaccompanied minors, an approach criticized by prior administrations. At the time, Homan publicly advised undocumented migrants to avoid "hiding in the shadows," telling Congress that those in the country illegally "should be afraid."
In addition to serving in Trump's first administration, Homan contributed to "Project 2025", the conservative agenda that Trump distanced himself from during the campaign. The "Project 2025" immigration plan outlines stricter measures that would affect various migrant groups and include eliminating protections under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program and repealing T and U visas, which grant legal status to victims of crimes who assist law enforcement.
The upcoming administration is planning on implementing the "largest deportation operation in U.S. history" from day one.
Undocumented immigrants, however, are not the only ones who may be affected by a Trump presidency as vice-presidential hopeful JD Vance has also floated the idea of certain immigrants with legal residency also being targeted, including DACA recipients. Trump himself has also pledged to end the CHNV parole program, potentially affecting up to 2.7 million people.
The sheer scope of such operations is the focus of a new study by FWD.us which has revealed that nearly 28.2 million U.S. residents, including 19.5 million Latinos will live in mixed-status or undocumented households as of early 2025, putting them at risk of deportation of family separation. In all, 1 in 12 people in the U.S. and nearly 1 in 3 Latinos are poised to suffer the consequences of Trump's immigration policies.
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