The incoming border czar visited south Texas on Nov. 26 to serve Thanksgiving meals and a message to the troops.
Tom Homan, along with Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, served state troopers and members of the National Guard at a military base near the Rio Grande to express gratitude for their hard work along the border.
“What you’ve done is not only protect the state of Texas and the citizens of Texas, you are protecting this nation,” Homan told them.
Homan, who has worked under six U.S. presidents starting with Ronald Reagan and including Barack Obama, reiterated his support for Trump’s policy of mass deportations.
The new border czar was one of the first appointments made by Trump, who wrote in his announcement on Truth Social that “Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.” Homan previously worked as acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director during Trump’s first term.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, nearly 11 million known migrants crossed the U.S. southern border during the Biden-Harris administration.
Homan said that if the illegal migrants are allowed to stay, the border will never be fixed, adding that the United States is a nation of laws.
“Game on,” Homan told the crowd when discussing the plan.
He also issued a warning to individuals who are planning to harbor and hide illegal immigrants, emphasizing that doing so is considered a felony.
Homan added that any mayor or governor who pushes back is going against their “normal responsibility” to the nation.
Homan recently said he’s willing to throw Denver Mayor Mike Johnston behind bars over his resistance to mass deportation. This came after Johnston himself said he’s willing to go to jail when discussing his resistance to Trump’s efforts.
“Yeah, I’m not afraid of that and I’m also not seeking that,” Johnston said in a recent interview with an NBC affiliate.
“I think the goal is that we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people how to solve hard problems. Republican and Democratic presidents in the past have all tried to find solutions to these problems. President Reagan helped people get access to work so they could stay and support themselves. Biden and Harris worked on restricting at the border to close down.”
Earlier this week, the Texas governor shared the status of Operation Lone Star, a multi-agency effort to secure the border. The state is expanding the length of floating marine barriers along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, which he described as extremely effective and low-cost.
Abbott also pointed out that Biden once filed a lawsuit to stop to his efforts but failed.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre previously said that Abbott’s policies made it difficult for Border Patrol agents to access the river.
“Those are unlawful actions that are not helpful and is undermining what the president has put forward and is trying to do,” she said.