Laura Ingraham spoke with Border Czar Tom Homan about the scale of ongoing immigration enforcement operations and the agency’s plans to increase personnel in the coming weeks.
Homan said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing for a major expansion that will triple the size of its enforcement and removal teams.
Ingraham noted the rapid pace of activity since the start of the administration.
“Less than a week from the beginning of the administration. And even if you keep going at the pace you’re going at, that’s a dent in the illegal alien population. People would deport, you know, who are deportable aliens right now. So what do you say to those people? Say this is great, but it’s nowhere near enough.”
Homan responded by pointing to both the hiring surge and the results already recorded.
“Then come put a badge and gun on and give us a hand. ICE is hiring record numbers,” he said.
Homan added that current enforcement levels have surpassed historic benchmarks.
“Bottom line is, I just said just about 650,000 deportation. That is several 100,000 more than the record that was back in 2012 so it was already historic operation.”
He said the number of people leaving the country on their own has also increased significantly.
“Second of all, you got to consider the people who have left the country out of fear of being deported was over 1.6 million of them. So there’s well over 2.2 million left the country already. And that’s been the part of plan from beginning.”
According to Homan, the increase in enforcement teams is part of the strategy that has changed migration patterns.
“We knew if we send over 1000 ice teams across the country, we send a message to the whole world, you enter this country illegally. We’re looking for you. And by sending that message, by having anything ice is one of the reasons why the most secure border in history, in the nation now, because people aren’t coming, because they know there’s consequences.”
Homan referred to both deportations and voluntary departures as evidence that current efforts are having a measurable impact.
“So between that record number deportations or record number of self deports, we’re already having historic deportation operation,” he said.
He also confirmed new hiring targets for the coming weeks.
“But hold on tight. We’re hiring 10,000 more that’s going beyond duty by mid January. That’s tripling the size, tripling the size of enforcement, move operations. Should we think the numbers are historic now wait till next year.”
