Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s top official overseeing mass deportations, defended the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy on Monday, pushing back against criticism that federal agents are increasingly targeting undocumented immigrants without criminal records.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Homan insisted that national security and public safety threats remain the top priority — but emphasized that anyone in the country illegally is still subject to arrest.
“Same as day one — national security threats, public safety threats are always the priority,” Homan said. “But if you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table.”
Responding to growing criticism over arrests of undocumented immigrants without violent criminal histories, Homan was blunt: “I see people saying we’re arresting noncriminals. Well, they’re in the country illegally. That’s our job.”
Sweeps in Sanctuary Cities
Homan also called out sanctuary cities, arguing that ICE agents often encounter multiple undocumented immigrants when targeting one individual with a criminal record — and that agents won’t ignore the others.
“This is a problem in sanctuary cities,” he said. “When we go into a community to find a criminal, many times they’re with others who may not be the criminal target, but they’re in the United States illegally. They’re coming, too. We’re going to enforce immigration law.”
A Shift from Biden-Era Policy
Homan drew a sharp contrast with the policies of President Biden and former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“Unlike the last administration, where Secretary Mayorkas instructed ICE, ‘You can’t arrest an illegal alien for simply being here illegally — they have to be convicted of a serious criminal offense,’” Homan said, “he rewrote the law. That’s not what the law says. We’re going to enforce the law. That’s what the people put President Trump in office to do, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Deportation Numbers Surge
New ICE data shows a dramatic rise in arrests of undocumented immigrants with no additional criminal convictions. According to Reuters, those arrests jumped from 860 in January to 11,800 as of June 15 — a staggering increase of nearly 1,300%. Arrests of undocumented immigrants with criminal records also rose, but by a comparatively smaller 101%.
The figures reflect the Trump administration’s renewed focus on broad enforcement, part of a larger strategy to reverse Biden-era restrictions and restore Trump’s original immigration platform.
With deportation operations expanding across sanctuary jurisdictions and beyond, Homan made clear the administration’s stance: no one in the country illegally is exempt from removal.
