1 hour ago
3
The pursuing is the transcript of the interrogation with Tom Homan, Trump medication borderline czar, that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected Feb. 15, 2026.
ED O'KEEFE: Good greeting and invited to 'Face The Nation.' Margaret is disconnected today. Washington is waking up to different backing standoff, and it's unclear astatine this constituent erstwhile it could end, arsenic legislature is connected recess for different week. So for much connected the statement implicit migration enforcement tactics, we're joined by White House borderline czar Tom Homan. Mr. Homan, convey you truthful overmuch for joining us.
TOM HOMAN: Thanks for having me.
ED O'KEEFE: I privation to begin, of course, with negotiations implicit reopening the Department of Homeland Security. They halfway astir immoderate circumstantial argumentation changes Democrats request successful however migration agents behaviour operations. Among different things, they'd similar to necessitate migration agents to amusement identification, deterioration assemblage cameras, instrumentality disconnected their masks, halt radical profiling and question judicial warrants to participate backstage property. Which, if immoderate of those asks are- is the president, are you consenting consider- oregon consenting to see adopting?
TOM HOMAN: Well, I'm not a portion of those negotiations. That's being arsenic being done up connected the elevation betwixt Senate and House and the White House. I'm not truly portion of those negotiations. But look, you know, they privation to say, halt radical profiling. That's conscionable not occurring. I mean, ICE volition detain, concisely detain and question, but question idiosyncratic based connected tenable suspicion. It has thing to bash with radical profiling. As acold arsenic the disguise look, you know, I don't similar the masks either, but due to the fact that threats against ICE officers, you know, are up implicit 1500% existent assaults and threats are up implicit 8000%. These men and women person to support themselves. As acold arsenic identifying themselves, they each person placards identifying themselves arsenic ICE, ERO, HSI, DEA, FBI, truthful they each person placards connected them. So I'll fto the White House and members of Congress, you know, combat that out. But I deliberation immoderate of the asks are just- I deliberation they're unreasonable due to the fact that determination is nary radical profiling. There is identifying marks, but masks, you know, wherefore don't they speech astir possibly passing authorities to marque it amerciable to dox agents oregon thing similar that? But the masks close present are for serviceman information reasons.
ED O'KEEFE: There are national laws, of course, against injuring, harming, threatening national authorities, truthful determination is that. And I deliberation 1 of the things that radical get hung up connected is the thought that the bull connected the thoroughfare successful their neighborhood, a authorities constabulary officer, different national agents volition place themselves with their sanction connected their lapel. And yes, their employing agency. But wherefore should these migration agents beryllium immoderate antithetic and erstwhile it comes to the masks arsenic well? You know, cops spell retired each day, everyplace crossed the state get threatened successful 1 mode oregon another--
TOM HOMAN: --I don't cognize of--
ED O'KEEFE: But why- wherefore person to deterioration each that and support themselves erstwhile determination are others retired determination wearing badges that don't person to bash that?
TOM HOMAN: Well, again, they are wearing badges. They're wearing placards to place what bureau they're from--
ED O'KEEFE: But their sanction isn't connected it, right?
TOM HOMAN: When it comes to masks I don't I- I don't cognize of different instrumentality enforcement bureau successful the state that has an 8,000% summation successful threats. Just yesterday, the manager of ICE his woman was filmed walking to work. His location code has been doxed. His kids person been doxed and filmed. So no, I don't cognize of different bureau successful this state that has an 8000% increase. And look, let's retrieve wherefore we're here, Ed. We're present due to the fact that the past 4 years, implicit 10 cardinal amerciable aliens crossed that border, released successful this state unvetted ICE has to bash a instrumentality enforcement effect to woody with the past 4 years unfastened border, wherever they assertion the borderline was unafraid each time and it wasn't.
ED O'KEEFE: What's truthful incorrect astir obtaining a judicial warrant to participate backstage property?
TOM HOMAN: That's not what the national instrumentality requires. Congress themselves wrote the Immigration Nationality Act that gave powerfulness connected the administrative warrant to apprehension somebody, and that's what's acceptable up successful national statutes. So if Congress wants that change, past Congress tin legislate. But close now, ICE is acting wrong the model of national statutes enacted by Congress and signed by a president.
ED O'KEEFE: Well, arsenic I recall, you person antecedently said that you thought judicial warrants were indispensable for searches. There's been this alteration successful argumentation successful that present ICE tin spell with these administrative warrants that are issued by ICE personnel. Why your alteration of heart? I mean, intelligibly there- astatine 1 point, astatine slightest you agreed that was necessary.
TOM HOMAN: No, I don't person a changed heart. What I understand, and I wasn't portion of those discussions, is that DOJ construe that instrumentality saying successful certain- successful definite circumstances, administrative warrant connected idiosyncratic has a last bid removal already had a owed process issued by a [unintelligible] justice that tin participate a premises. I'm not a portion of that discussion, but that's the DOJ guidance.
ED O'KEEFE: Last week, you announced the months agelong cognition known arsenic Metro Surge successful Minnesota is winding down. ICE, of course, is going to support a beingness successful the state, but not astatine the levels we've seen successful caller weeks. If things support winding down, erstwhile should that surge beryllium over?
TOM HOMAN: Well, look astir arsenic of we already removed good implicit 1000 people, and arsenic of Monday, Tuesday, we'll region respective 100 more. We'll get backmost to the archetypal footprint, with the objection of the agents determination to bash the fraud investigation, volition enactment determination and proceed their enactment until they're done. The agents investigating the religion contented wherever the radical went into the church, they'll enactment and get that enactment done. But determination volition be- determination volition beryllium a tiny force, a information force, what we telephone RFQs, that will- our information forces, that volition respond to erstwhile our agents are retired and they get surrounded by agitators and things got retired of control, and they'll stay for a abbreviated play of time, conscionable to marque definite the coordination, the agreements we person with section authorities instrumentality enforcement, enactment successful place, and they respond to a nationalist information menace erstwhile needed. And truthful hopefully those information forces- information a tiny footprint, information forces tin remove, tin beryllium removed truly reasonably quickly. I'm hoping. I deliberation things are going the close direction, and I got religion they'll proceed that way.
ED O'KEEFE: This was the largest deployment of national migration agents successful section history. Do you expect determination volition beryllium others connected the standard seen successful Minneapolis?
TOM HOMAN: I deliberation it depends connected the situation. I've said from time 1 that, you cognize we request to- we request to flood the portion successful sanctuary cities with further agents. The fig of agents beryllium connected the concern connected the ground. How galore known transgression targets are retired there? Because we cognize we person a occupation with sanctuary cities, due to the fact that we cognize they're releasing nationalist information threats successful the nationalist truthful alternatively than apprehension that 1 transgression successful jail, 1 cause wrestling 1 transgression alien, the safety, and information of a jail, which is safer for the agent, safer for the aliens, safer for the community, they merchandise them successful the street. Now we got to nonstop a full team, oregon six oregon 7 people. That is simply a triumph we had successful Minnesota. Everybody- due to the fact that present we person agreements and coordination with jails, we tin remainder that nationalist information menace successful the information safety of jail, which means we don't person to nonstop six oregon 7 radical retired to look for them. So, I'm hoping different sanctuary cities look astatine what was- what happened successful Minnesota, and however we- however we got to the spot reds, which I deliberation is simply a bully place. I anticipation much radical wage attraction to that, and we enactment with the states to fto our officers successful the jail. You can't- a batch of politicians are retired determination connected the near oregon the Democrats saying, okay, ICE, we agree. You should beryllium focusing connected nationalist information threats. You should beryllium focusing connected amerciable aliens who person committed superior crimes successful this country, but they fastener america retired of the jail. You can't quadrate that. If you truly privation america to absorption connected the criminals, past fto america successful the jail. That's the safest, astir unafraid spot to bash our work.
ED O'KEEFE: A fewer different things quickly, if we can, arsenic the surge winds down successful Minneapolis, 1 of the much melodramatic incidents present is precise overmuch successful question. As you know, 2 ICE agents present connected administrative permission pending an interior probe due to the fact that video grounds shows their sworn grounds appears to person been untruthful. Only hours aft that incidental occurred, you'll callback DHS had said the ICE serviceman who changeable the migrant they were targeting was being ambushed and feared for his life. That present appears to beryllium untrue. You instrumentality that incidental combined with the 2 deadly shootings successful Minneapolis and an incidental successful Chicago precocious wherever grounds contradicted the government's assertion a pistillate rammed an agent's vehicle, and I wonder, does this each conscionable further undermine spot successful ICE crossed the country?
TOM HOMAN: Well, look, you know, my archetypal property league successful Minnesota, I said I was bringing further interior affairs agents in, conscionable to marque definite officers successful the tract was doing the close thing. And each 1 of those instances you conscionable talked astir were turned implicit to interior affairs. I cognize the FBI is investigating the cases also, truthful we'll spot wherever those investigations lead. But arsenic the ICE Director said connected Friday, radical volition beryllium held accountable and they'll beryllium afloat investigated, and nevertheless that probe comes out, past disciplinary enactment oregon prosecutions volition occur.
ED O'KEEFE: Right. A Wall Street Journal study published successful caller days, I'm definite you've seen it, details wide concerns with the enactment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her main advisor, Corey Lewandowski. The study says you seldom talk with the Secretary oregon Lewandowski, contempt the information that you oversee migration issues arsenic good from the White House perspective, and that you've repeatedly complained to the White House astir them. What is your interest with Secretary Noem and Corey Lewandowski?
TOM HOMAN: Look, it's 1 team, 1 fight. I'm not playing successful that media. They're trying to disagreement this administration. They privation to onslaught the men and women who enactment successful this administration. Look, bash maine and Secretary Nome hold connected everything? No. That's wherefore we person discussions. That's wherefore each time we person a multi-agency league telephone and meeting. We sermon going forward, and we person antithetic opinions. Well, those antithetic opinions are worked out, and we determination forward. The bottommost enactment is, we person the astir unafraid borderline successful past successful this nation. We got grounds numbers of transgression aliens arrested and deported successful this state due to the fact that this is 1 team, 1 fight. The results talk for themselves.
ED O'KEEFE: But you don't dispute, you've had disagreements with them astatine times, adjacent if they've been resolved?
TOM HOMAN: I person a disagreement with we got- we got galore national agencies, and it's not it's- not similar a retired of power disagreement. I privation to bash it this way. Someone wants to bash it this way. Then we speech astir what works champion successful this situation. We each travel to statement successful the end, but it's a treatment of antithetic ideas. I've been doing this for 40 years. We person the- Rodney Scott that runs CBP. He's been doing it for 30 years. So we each travel to the table. We travel up with antithetic ideas, but we settee connected a mission, and I deliberation the results of this ngo speaks for themselves. Again, the astir unafraid borderline successful past of this nation, due to the fact that of our collaboration and grounds numbers of transgression aliens being arrested and deported. The results talk for themselves.
ED O'KEEFE: Tom Homan, the White House borderline czar convey you for spending immoderate of your Sunday with us. We admit it. 'Face the Nation,' we'll beryllium backmost successful 1 minute. Stay with us.
English (US) ·