Immigration Chief Urges Focused Enforcement to Maintain Public Trust

Before stepping into his role in Minneapolis, Tom Homan, the border czar, made it clear that a focused strategy on immigration enforcement was essential to “keep the faith of the American people.”

While any undocumented immigrant can face arrest and deportation, Homan, who has held positions in Homeland Security across both the Obama and Trump administrations, has consistently advocated for prioritizing those with criminal records for such actions.

In a revealing interview from June, featured in the upcoming book “Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program,” Homan cautioned that neglecting this focus could jeopardize public support for the Trump administration.

“The vast majority of Americans believe that criminal illegal aliens should be removed. If we adhere to that prioritization, we maintain public trust,” Homan stated on June 16, coinciding with Border Patrol's initial large-scale raids in Los Angeles under commander Greg Bovino.

As Bovino transitioned from relative obscurity as the Border Patrol sector chief in El Centro, California, to overseeing operations in Los Angeles, the agency shifted tactics. Unlike ICE officers who target specific individuals, Border Patrol began broad enforcement actions based on immigrant residency and employment locations, as detailed in court documents.

The sweeping operations commenced in the Los Angeles Fashion District on June 6, igniting five weeks of protests and prompting Trump to deploy the National Guard and Marines.

One notable incident, referred to as Operation Trojan Horse, involved Bovino directing agents to emerge from a rental truck in a Home Depot parking lot to apprehend day laborers waiting for work.

Since then, scrutiny of Homeland Security’s enforcement methods has intensified as deportation efforts expanded to cities like Chicago, Charlotte, and New Orleans. Public outrage peaked last month when immigration authorities fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

The deaths of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti and 37-year-old Renee Good occurred during a period when Bovino employed a broad enforcement strategy. Officers in Minneapolis detained a U.S. citizen and demanded proof of citizenship from individuals at gas stations.

Bovino's aggressive response to protesters—personally deploying tear gas canisters into crowds in Chicago—faced significant backlash and legal challenges.

Following this turmoil, Bovino was replaced by Homan, who had long advocated for a more targeted approach. Homan indicated he would reduce the number of federal officers if local law enforcement increased support for locating immigrants with criminal backgrounds. He initiated this by cutting 700 personnel from the 3,000-strong Border Patrol and ICE contingent in Minneapolis last week.

Trump remarked in an interview that “maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch” regarding immigration enforcement.

As Bovino's enforcement style was just taking shape in June, Homan expressed concern about apprehending migrants who entered the U.S. legally seeking asylum.

“The more stories like that emerge, the more people will question our actions,” Homan noted.

Data indicates that approximately one-third of ICE arrests during the first nine months of the Trump administration involved immigrants without criminal convictions; this figure excludes Border Patrol arrests.

A New York Times/Siena poll conducted after Good’s death but prior to Pretti’s revealed that 61% of respondents felt ICE’s tactics had exceeded acceptable limits.

Despite Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asserting that immigration operations were aimed at specific targets, immigration advocates and anonymous DHS officials have indicated that the agency has instead increased arrest numbers by detaining immigrants encountered by agents regardless of their criminal history—contrary to Homan's recommendations.

This approach has been championed by Noem’s close adviser Corey Lewandowski and Bovino. An email obtained revealed Bovino's frustration over being instructed to conduct only targeted operations for two weeks in Chicago before resuming broader enforcement efforts.