Border Czar Tom Homan Threatens ICE Surge in New York and Phoenix

Tom Homan has been positioned by President Donald Trump as a “border czar” tasked with enforcing immigration law and coordinating federal immigration efforts, with multiple outlets tying his role to deportations and arrests.

“Massive repatriation announced by Trump: The insights of Elhadj Saliou Sow, immigration consultant… NEW YORK – The re-election of Donald Trump in November last year in the United States has sparked fear among thousands of undocumented migrants in the land of Uncle Sam”

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Reuters says Trump designated Homan as “the called ‘zar de las fronteras’” and that his mission is to “reforzar el control migratorio y las deportaciones,” while also noting that Homan was “director interino del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) durante la primera administración de Donald Trump.”

CBS News

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Homan told a crowd at a border security conference and trade show in Phoenix, “We’re going to enforce the laws of this country without apology.”

CNN likewise places Homan at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix and quotes him brushing off critics, saying, “mass deportations are coming.”

In the same Reuters account, Homan is described as coordinating “a las distintas agencias federales involucradas en la frontera sur (incluida ICE)” to execute a “política de tolerancia cero.”

Across the coverage, the emphasis is on interior enforcement and deportation capacity, with The Christian Science Monitor saying the administration is hiring “10,000 new deportation officers” to remove unauthorized immigrants from the U.S. interior.

The Christian Science Monitor describes the administration’s enforcement posture as continuing even after a shift away from highly visible city raids, saying Homan told a Phoenix audience the administration is hiring “10,000 new deportation officers” to remove unauthorized immigrants from the U.S. interior.

The outlet frames this as part of an ongoing hiring spree at the Department of Homeland Security and quotes Homan’s insistence that the administration is not giving “an inch,” stating, “We’re going to enforce the laws of this country without apology.”

CNN

It also reports that border officers have continued to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the nation’s interior, with Rodney Scott, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), confirming that collaboration and describing data-sharing “within minutes” to ICE special agents.

In the same report, Homan says the Trump administration, “between ICE and the Border Patrol, has made some 800,000 removals,” while the article notes that “How exactly the government is calculating that removal count is unclear.”

CNN similarly portrays Homan as promising a “flood the zone” approach, quoting him at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix that the “mass deportation promise will happen.”

CNN also includes Homan’s claim that “35% to 40%” of the undocumented immigrants arrested during Trump’s second term have no criminal record, while he argues that this is necessary to “send a message to the whole world.”

Washington Examiner adds a more aggressive timeline, quoting Homan telling “more than 2,200 guests” that “If you think last year’s historic number was good, wait until next year, when we have 10,000 agents.”

Multiple outlets tie Homan’s enforcement message to a confrontation with “sanctuary” jurisdictions and state-level limits on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

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Center for Immigration Studies

The Washington Examiner reports that Homan “took aim on Tuesday at Democrats and sanctuary city politicians” and vowed to go beyond the pace of ICE arrests, quoting him at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix: “If you think last year’s historic number was good, wait until next year, when we have 10,000 agents.… You ain’t seen s*** yet.”

It also quotes Homan saying, “Mass deportations are coming,” and frames his argument as continuing arrest operations “regardless of their criminal background.”

Notus describes a specific threat to New York, quoting Homan telling government contractors at the Border Security Expo 2026 in Phoenix, “You’re gonna flood the zone. You’re gonna see more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen before,” and adding that federal agents would be instructed to arrest undocumented immigrants encountered along the way.

CNN similarly reports that Homan vowed to “flood the zone” with immigration officers in jurisdictions that pass legislation limiting cooperation with federal enforcement, and it includes his line, “For the people out there saying ‘President Trump’s getting weak on mass deportation,’ you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

In response, CNN quotes Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul saying, “All I’ll say to Mr. Homan is that Donald Trump himself said he would not send a surge of ICE agents to the state of New York unless I ask …. I’m not asking.”

The Christian Science Monitor also references the political context after fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by Department of Homeland Security law enforcement in Minneapolis in January, noting that the administration reined in large-scale, public immigration raids while continuing interior collaboration.

Radio-Canada reports that the Trump administration planned “mass arrests of illegal migrants across the country as early as Tuesday,” describing “There will be actions nationwide” and naming Chicago as one of the places where arrests were expected to begin.

The outlet says Tom Homan, described as the former head of ICE and “who will be in charge of border affairs in the Trump administration,” reacted to reports published by the Wall Street Journal and other U.S. media.

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Radio-Canada quotes Homan telling Fox News, “On Tuesday, ICE will go out and finally do its job,” and adds his statement, “We will allow them to arrest foreign criminals.”

It also says Homan insisted, “We will allow them to arrest foreign criminals,” and that the administration would “first focus on the worst, on threats to public safety, but no one is ruled out.”

Radio-Canada further reports that, according to the Wall Street Journal citing four people close to the operations, arrests were expected to begin Tuesday in Chicago and “would last all week,” involving “100 to 200 ICE agents.”

The Christian Science Monitor provides a different operational angle, describing how border officers send interview data “within minutes” to ICE special agents and that follow-up arrests can occur “30 minutes, two hours ago” based on information from Border Patrol agents and CBP officers.

CNN adds that Homan’s plan includes “collateral” arrests, quoting him saying, “You will see collateral arrests increase in these areas,” and that “collaterals” are people not targeted but present during operations.

Le Grand Continent adds a broader enforcement context, saying that “Since Monday, January 20, Trump has substantially expanded the powers available to federal authorities to arrest, detain, and expel irregular migrants,” and that ICE announced it had arrested “more than 3,500 people.”

Beyond enforcement rhetoric, Le Grand Continent frames the potential consequences of mass deportation as economic and labor-market risks, while other coverage points to public opinion and political support.

“Since Monday, January 20, Trump has substantially expanded the powers available to federal authorities to arrest, detain, and expel irregular migrants”

Le Grand Continent

Le Grand Continent says that “Trump’s plan and that of his allies could also harm the U.S. economy and contribute to higher inflation,” and it links the concern to undocumented workers’ role in sectors including agriculture and construction.

NOTUS

The outlet cites Pew Research Center data, stating that “more than 8 million of these irregular migrants are employed or actively seeking work, representing nearly 5% of the country’s total labor force.”

It also reports that the American Immigration Council estimated that even at a pace of expelling “one million people per year,” it would take “more than ten years” and cost “$88 billion per year,” for a total cost of “$967.9 billion.”

In parallel, the Center for Immigration Studies article discusses a Harvard/Harris Poll, reporting that the poll surveyed “2,745 registered voters” between “April 23 and 26” and that the margin of error was “+/- 1.87 percentage points.”

It says “Three-quarters, 75 percent, of registered voters support Trump’s policy of deporting illegal criminal aliens,” and it adds that “55 percent of respondents favored ‘deporting all immigrants who are here illegally’.”

The same poll coverage reports that “40 percent of respondents had a positive view of ICE,” compared to “46 percent who viewed the interior immigration enforcement agency unfavorably.”

Taken together, the stakes described in these sources combine operational expansion with projected economic costs and measurable voter attitudes toward deportation and ICE.