Border Czar Tom Homan warned Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would not be deterred by escalating attacks from opponents, vowing to continue deporting criminal illegal aliens. “They won’t stop the men and women of ICE,” Homan told Fox News host Harris Faulkner, emphasizing the agency’s resolve despite increasing threats.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, violence against ICE agents has surged by 1,000% as operations intensify. The latest incident occurred Wednesday when 29-year-old Joshua Jahn killed an illegal alien detainee and injured two others before taking his own life. Police discovered unspent bullet casings marked with the phrase “anti-ICE” at the scene, though no agents were harmed in the targeted attack.
Homan highlighted that approximately 600,000 undocumented individuals with criminal records remain free in the U.S., largely due to sanctuary city policies. He criticized jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with ICE, forcing agents to conduct raids in neighborhoods and risking encounters with nonviolent migrants. “In sanctuary cities, they force us to go into communities to find the bad guy, and if we find them with others, they’re coming too,” Homan said.
He urged authorities to grant ICE access to jails to ensure safer operations for agents, detainees, and residents. “If you want less collateral arrests, let us into the damn jail where it’s safe for everyone,” he argued. Homan also appealed for an end to inflammatory rhetoric, citing personal losses from agents killed in the line of duty. “These men and women are patriots. They’re moms and dads too. I want every one of them to go home to their families each night,” he said.
Despite Homan’s pleas, Democratic leaders have intensified criticism of ICE. Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) accused agents of “dangerous and reckless immigration operations,” while Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) falsely claimed they targeted parents dropping kids at daycare. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), a Senate candidate, compared ICE tactics to “Gestapo methods,” and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) blamed Homan for deploying “masked ICE agents on the American people.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) alleged ICE stokes fear by raiding churches and schools, while Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) accused officials of targeting individuals based on race or ethnicity. California Governor Gavin Newsom labeled the Trump administration’s deportation efforts “authoritarian,” decrying “masked men jumping out of unmarked cars” without due process.
Homan dismissed anti-ICE protesters as misinformed, claiming they parrot “fake media” narratives. He reiterated his commitment to protecting both agents and those under investigation, stating, “I pray for the safety of my agents, as well as the safety of those we’re looking for.”
