Thomas Homan
Thomas Douglas Homan is a former American police officer and government official who served as Acting Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from January 30, 2017 to June 29, 2018.[1] Since his retirement from public service, he has been a Fox News contributor.[2]
Thomas Homan | |
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Acting Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement | |
In office January 30, 2017 – June 29, 2018 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Deputy | Peter T. Edge (Acting) |
Preceded by | Daniel Ragsdale (Acting) |
Succeeded by | Ronald Vitiello (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | West Carthage, New York, U.S. |
Education | Jefferson Community College, New York State University of New York, Utica-Rome (BAS) |
Career
Homan was born in West Carthage, New York. He holds an associate degree in criminal justice from Jefferson Community College and a bachelor's degree from SUNY Polytechnic Institute.[3] He served as a police officer in West Carthage, New York before joining what was then called the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1986. He served as a border patrol agent, an investigator, as well as a supervisor before being appointed by President Barack Obama to Executive Associate Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2013.[4] In 2015, President Obama gave him a Presidential Rank Award as a Distinguished Executive. A Washington Post article at the time stated, "Thomas Homan deports people. And he's really good at it."[5][6]
Director of ICE
On January 30, 2017, President Donald Trump demoted acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Daniel Ragsdale to deputy director, a position he already held, and appointed Homan as acting director.[7][8][9][10][11]
In May 2017, Homan announced ICE had arrested 41,319 people between Inauguration Day and the end of April, a 38% increase from the same period the year before.[12]
As ICE director, Homan has voiced opposition to illegal immigration and support for strong illegal immigration enforcement.[13][14][15] He also voiced support for passing Kate's Law and ending sanctuary cities.[16] He has denied saying "aliens commit more crimes than US citizens".[17]
On Tuesday, November 14, 2017, President Donald J. Trump nominated Homan for ICE Director.[18]
In February 2018, Homan said that politicians who support sanctuary city policies should be charged with crimes.[19]
On April 30, 2018, he announced that he would retire from his position as acting ICE Director effective June of the same year.[20]
On June 5, 2018, Homan appeared for a discussion with the Policy Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower levels of immigration, in which he defended the policy of separating illegally entering parents from their children, and lauded President Donald Trump, saying, "You can like or love this president, but no president has done more for border security and public safety than this president. You cannot deny that."[21]
On June 19, 2018, Homan was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN [22] about the Trump Administration’s policy of separating children from parents of families illegally attempting to enter the United States. In that interview, Homan refused to decry the policy, but instead stated that ICE was simply enforcing the law. Homan further stated that parents who give their children to criminal smuggling organizations to get them across the border illegally are inhumane. Homan also noted that these same organizations are responsible for trafficking in guns and drugs and have been responsible for the murder of a border patrol agent.
In July 2019, Homan testified before the House Oversight Committee regarding the separation of illegal immigrant families.[23]
References
- "Statement from Secretary Kelly on the President's Appointment of Thomas D. Homan as Acting ICE Director". The US Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- Blitzer, Jonathan (June 24, 2019). "ICE Agents Are Losing Patience with Trump's Chaotic Immigration Policy". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- "Trump appoints West Carthage native as ICE director". Watertown Daily Times.
- Nixon, Ron (January 31, 2017). "Trump Names Thomas Homan as Acting Immigration Enforcement Chief". New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- "Meet the man the White House has honored for deporting illegal immigrants". Washington Post. April 25, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- "5 things to know about ICE Director Thomas Homan". ABC 10. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- Berman, Mark; Zapotosky, Matt (January 30, 2017). "Trump appoints new Immigration and Customs Enforcement director noted for his work deporting illegal immigrants". Washington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- Chamberlain, Samuel (January 31, 2017). "Trump Names Thomas Homan Acting Director of ICE". Fox News. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- Lavender, Paige (January 30, 2017). "Trump Fires ICE Director Daniel Ragsdale, Appoints Thomas Homan". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- "Statement from Secretary Kelly on the President's Appointment of Thomas D. Homan as Acting ICE Director". Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- Lichtblau, Eric; Apuzzo, Matt; Landler, Mark (January 30, 2017). "Trump Fires Acting Attorney General". New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
The decision by the acting attorney general is a remarkable rebuke by a government official to a sitting president that recalls the dramatic "Saturday Night Massacre" in 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon fired his attorney general and deputy attorney general for refusing to dismiss the special prosecutor in the Watergate case. That case prompted a constitutional crisis that ended when Robert Bork, the solicitor general, acceded to Mr. Nixon's order and fired Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor.
- Dickerson, Caitlin (May 18, 2017). "Immigration Arrests Rise Sharply as a Trump Mandate Is Carried Out". The New York Times. p. A22. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- Bedard, Paul (June 13, 2017). "ICE Chief Rips Critics of Deportations, Entering Illegally 'Is a Crime'". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- Dinan, Stephen (June 13, 2017). "No apologies: ICE Chief Says Illegal Immigrants Should Live in Fear of Deportation". The Washington Times. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- Kopan, Tal (June 16, 2017). "ICE Director: Undocumented Immigrants 'Should be Afraid'". CNN. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- Miller, S.A. (June 28, 2017). "ICE Chief Makes Impassioned Plea for Kate's Law, Crackdown on Sanctuary Cities". The Washington Times. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- Mark, Michelle (June 28, 2017). "ICE Director Appears to Break with One of Trump's Key Beliefs on Immigrants and Crime". Business Insider. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- "One Nomination Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- Conradis, Brandon (January 2, 2018). "Trump ICE pick: Politicians who run sanctuary cities should be charged with crimes". TheHill. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- The Hill. "Acting ICE director to retire". Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Defends Separating Families at the Border, Time Magazine, Maya Rhodan, June 5, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- CNN, Acting ICE director on whether 'zero tolerance' policy is humane: 'It's the law', retrieved June 19, 2018
- Kaufman, Elle. "Former ICE official trades heated words with lawmakers at hearing". CNN. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas D. Homan. |
- ICE profile
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Web site: https://tomhomanspeaks.com
- Book: Defend the Border and Save Lives: https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Our-Border-Immigration-Director/dp/1546085939/
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Daniel Ragsdale Acting |
Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting 2017–2018 |
Succeeded by Ronald Vitiello Acting |