Tom Homan, a contributor to Project 2025’s over 900-page Mandate for Leadership, has been chosen as Trump’s “Border Czar.” The position will make him responsible for the southern and northern borders, maritime and aviation security, and deportation efforts, according to AP News. The role will not require Senate confirmation.
Homan served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term. He is considered the architect of the Zero Tolerance policy that separated over 5,000 children from their families. Reunification has been difficult because the Trump administration did not always keep records of who a child’s parents were. As of May 2024, about 25 percent of those children are still living without their parents.
Family separations were decried by Americans and human rights supporters around the world when they were revealed in 2018, with the backlash getting so extreme that Trump stopped the policy a few days before a court order mandated its end. Homan himself would not even say that the practice was humane, dodging the question by trying to claim that it was legally required.
While a ruling from a federal judge bans the federal government from restarting the Zero Tolerance policy, experts worry that it could be possible to exploit loopholes in the order. It’s also possible that Trump will try to ignore the ban; both Trump and Homan have said it’s still on the table.
When asked about how the Trump administration will handle deportations for mixed-status families – situations where some family members are citizens or have other legal status, while others are undocumented – Homan has said he would give families the so-called “choice” of being deported all together or being separated.
While Homan has offered few specifics about his plans for mass deportations, he has said he wants to use the military as a “force multiplier” and that he hopes to deport undocumented immigrants to places other than their home country if their country refuses to take them back.
Homan has also said politicians who support sanctuary laws should be prosecuted, and going as far as to say he would be willing to jail the mayor of Denver over the city’s sanctuary ordinance.
During his speech at the Republican National Convention, Homan said Trump would designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations. That suggestion, referred to as a “sovereign Mexico” plan in Project 2025, would give President Trump sweeping authorities and, if he goes through with Project 2025’s suggestions of military attacks in Mexican territory, runs the risk of starting a war with Mexico.
Homan’s history and recent comments make it clear why so many immigrant families and human rights activists are worried about the incoming Trump administration. If he’s given free rein, we can expect Homan to implement any policy he likes, even if he knows it’s inhumane.