President Donald Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan has dropped the hammer on Democrat mayors and other local officials who are planning to “harbor illegal aliens.”
Homan warns state and local officials that it’s a felony offense to obstruct federal officials who are working to deport illegals.
Trump’s new border chief, who previously served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued the warning during a Tuesday interview on Fox News.
Fox host Lawrence Jones asked Homan how he would deal with Democrat governors, mayors, or police chiefs who refuse to help or even get in the way of federal deportation efforts.
“Well first of all, if they don’t want to help us, get the hell out of the way, we’re going to do it,” Homan said.
“If I got to send twice the amount of resources to that city, that’s what we are going to do.
“If they give us access to the jail, that’ll mean less agents in their community,” Homan said.
“For them pushing back and not letting us in the jail, it just means more agents are going to be in the community, so they’re hurting themselves.”
Homan suggested that these officials should familiarize themselves with federal statutes governing immigration.
“Finally I will say this: They need to educate themselves.
“They need to review this: Title 8, United States Code § 1324 (III), read about that, and don’t cross that line, because it is a felony to harbor and conceal illegal aliens from ICE.
“Read the statute. Don’t cross that line.”
Homan said he would be receptive to cooperating with law enforcement agencies that “want to help” with cracking down on the border crisis through Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“Since I have been announced, Lawrence, I have gotten thousands of soldiers that just recently left the military, they want to join forces,” he added.
“Police officers that retired want to join forces, retired Border Patrol agents, retired ICE agents that want to come back.
“Retirements from Border Patrol, that paperwork is pulled back.
“There’s a lot of excitement to do this job for the president of the United States.”
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Homan also said there would be “three rails of business” when he takes over securing the nation’s borders in the second Trump administration.
“First of all, we have to secure the border,” Homan said.
“We know how to do that, we’ve done it before.
“Second of all, we need to run [Trump’s] deportation operations,” he continued.
“The president has been clear, out of the gate we are going to focus on public safety threats and national security threats first, and fugitives, those who crossed the border illegally, had great due process at great taxpayer expense, were ordered removed by immigration judge and didn’t leave.
“They are also a priority.”
Homan added: “And third rail, we have to find over 300,000 children that were released into this country to so-called sponsors that the government can’t find.
“We also have to find the children and try to save them.”