Feb. 6 (UPI) — “Border Czar” Tom Homan on Thursday said operational leaks endanger agents and he expects drug cartels to escalate violence at the nation’s southern border.
Several reporters briefly engaged Homan outside the White House with questions regarding ICE sweeps in Aurora, Colo., and sanctuary cities such as Chicago.
A reporter asked how an operation against the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was proceeding in Aurora, where the gang has been accused of taking over apartment buildings while victimizing migrants and local residents.
“President [Donald] Trump promised the American people that we’re going to concentrate on Tren de Aragua,” Homan said. “They’re one of our priorities.”
Homan then referenced what he called a leak regarding the operation and said ICE might stop embedding media while undertaking sweeps.
“We’re going to hold those people accountable when we find out where the leaks occurred,” he said.
“This isn’t a game. When operations get leaked like that, it puts our officers in danger,” Homan said. “When they get a heads up we’re coming, its only a matter of time before officers are ambushed. The job’s dangerous enough.”
He said ICE is “doing a great job and are looking to do more,” but when operations get leaked, it makes the job harder.
“When you leak an operation, it means more bad guys are not being arrested, which means more bad guys are walking the streets,” Homan said.
He said ICE has arrested more than 11,000 undocumented migrants since “day one” of the current sweeps operations and border arrests are down since Trump became president.
He said ICE made less than 500 border arrests on Wednesday because illegal crossings are down.
“It wasn’t too long about we had 11,000 arrests every day under the Biden administration,” Homan said. “This administration will finally have operational control of the border.”
Sanctuary city sweeps
Another reporter asked Homan about ICE targeting Chicago and other sanctuary cities with sweeps for undocumented migrants and especially those who have engaged in criminal activities.
“Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals,” Homan responded. “Sanctuary officials said, ‘We want victims and witnesses of immigration crime to be able to come to the police without fear of us working with ICE.
“That’s a load of crap because the victims and witnesses of crime don’t want the public safety threat released in their communities. They don’t want a predator in their community.”
Homan said ICE and the Department of Justice will “hold sanctuary cities accountable and will take them to court” if the interfere with ICE sweeps and harbor undocumented migrants who have committed crimes.
He said the leaders of sanctuary cities should allow ICE to talk with people they have locked up in their jail cells and should turn criminals over to ICE after they are processed through local courts and jails.
“Just let us know when you release them,” Homan said. “I want local police to do what they can to assist in removing public safety threats from their communities.”
Another reporter asked Homan about ICE releasing some of the migrants who were detained following sweeps.
“ICE has released some detainees due to healthcare concerns that could not be handled while in ICE detention,” he said.
ICE has ended “catch and release” in accordance with Trump’s policy and Homan said he is meeting with ICE officials on Thursday to get a better idea of who has been released by ICE and why.
He also said the “worst of the worst” will be transported to the U.S. military base on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where ICE has had a migrant processing center for decades and 30,000 beds are available.
The legal process for detainees at Guantanamo Bay are the same as those that are used throughout the United States, Homan added.
Cartel violence at southern border
Homan also addressed potential cartel violence against border patrol agents and U.S. soldiers who are deployed to secure the southern border during an appearance on ABC News Live on Thursday.
Homan said Trump will use the U.S. military against Mexican cartels if they target U.S. troops on the southern border.
“The cartels would be foolish to take on the military, but we know they’ve taken on the Mexican military before,” Homan said. “Now we have the United States military.”
He said he expects an escalation of violence by the cartels, which Trump on Jan. 20 classified as global terrorist organizations.
“The cartels are making record amounts of money,” Homan said. “We’re taking money out of their pocket” by securing the southern border.
If any U.S. soldiers are harmed by cartels, Homan said the “wrath of President Trump is going to come down” on them.
“He has the ability to wipe them off the face of the Earth,” Homan added.