President Donald Trump’s "border czar," Tom Homan, told the Arizona Legislature on Tuesday that his administration is successfully cracking down on the border.
Homan joined lawmakers in Phoenix to talk about his zero-tolerance policy for undocumented immigrants and his efforts to enforce mass deportations.
So far, Homan said he’s made great progress, but he’s not satisfied yet.
“It’s not OK being in this country illegally, and people hate on me for that,” Homan said. “If you’re in this country illegally, you should be looking over your shoulder. It’s not OK to enter this country illegally. It’s a crime.”
Democrats walked out of the speech just after it started, holding signs with the names of people impacted. They said they’re protesting the Trump administration’s alleged violations of due process for immigrants.
“They are violating due process in so many situations,” Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan (D-Tucson) said. “To revoke student visas, to disappear people without providing them the opportunity for due process to prove that they were not a member of the gang.”
She referred to several people who were recently deported to El Salvador under suspicion of being gang members, although that hasn’t been established.
Homan said the walkout just made his day.
“If they saw what I saw in my 40 years, if they saw what the border sheriffs see every day on the border, they'd understand, but they’re ignorant. They don’t want to learn,” he said.
Homan brought up a recent victory regarding Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to accelerate deportations. Immigration rights groups argue that the new maneuver is a violation of migrants’ due process rights, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Trump’s right to continue on Monday.
The Trump administration did concede in another ongoing court case that it accidentally deported a man named Kilmat Armando Abrego Garcia – who was sent to a prison in El Salvador, but the administration is resisting letting him return to the U.S.
Homan reiterated what he’s said in the past, that he doesn’t care if people hate him or accuse him of being racist, because he’s saving lives.
Homan said he’ll support Arizona’s efforts to stop illegal immigration.
“Anything you need, let me know and I’ll be there,” he said.
In his speech, Homan doubled down on some of the more controversial policies of his administration, like family separations and detentions.
He spoke out against sanctuary cities and promised to send more officers into those communities if they resist.
There are no sanctuary cities in Arizona, and there won’t be anytime soon. A 2010 law banned municipalities from limiting the enforcement of federal immigration laws in any way.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) touted the Arizona ICE Act as he welcomed Homan. Petersen is sponsoring SB 1164, which advanced in the House of Representatives this week.
The bill would require state and local prisons to hold people who could otherwise be released if requested to by ICE. It would also strengthen requirements for Arizona to fall in line and assist with federal immigration policies in general.
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Congress created the federal legal aid program almost two decades ago and has directed funds to it every year. But on July 31, the roughly $200 million annual contract to do that work came to an end.
