Trump’s top deportation official has long been wary of the optics surrounding his job and how missteps could derail President Donald Trump‘s sweeping immigration agenda.
Border Czar Tom Homan, a veteran law enforcement officer with decades of experience in immigration enforcement, expressed concern last summer over how to keep Americans on board with Trump’s mass deportation mandate.
‘I think the vast majority of the American people think criminal illegal aliens need to leave. And if we stick to that prioritization, I think we keep the faith of the American people,’ Homan said in June 2025 in an interview for an upcoming book as immigration agents cracked down on Los Angeles.
Not only did the border czar prefer to target illegal immigrants with crimes in addition to their illegal entry, but Homan also wanted the Trump administration to address the hot-button issue of deportations with a veneer of compassion.
‘And I think the more we do that, the more the American people will support what President Trump’s doing. We got to do it and we’ve got to do it in a humane manner,’ Homan said, according to ‘Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program,’ scheduled for publication by an NBC reporter.
At the time, then-Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino was put in charge of local deportation operations in Los Angeles.
Soon, protests erupted in the city as locals clashed with immigration agents and the National Guard was deployed to settle things down. Bovino would also command agents in Chicago and Minneapolis.
Bovino crafted clever tactics to juice overall arrests, including Operation Trojan Horse, in which immigration agents were instructed to pop out of the back of a rental van to arrest suspected illegal immigrants outside of a Home Depot.
Border Czar Tom Homan has known for months that the Trump administration’s deportation agenda could be derailed by negative public perception
Ex-Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino, who was recently stripped of his title, was the face of his department’s heavy-handed deportation tactics
Homan recently announced that around 700 federal immigration agents in Minnesota would be sent home
But his brash approach soured his support within the Trump administration, and he was relieved of his duties after federal officers killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
His tenure coincided with a drop in support for ICE, according to the latest Daily Mail /JL Partners polling.
The latest survey released at the end of January shows that 53 percent of registered voters believe ICE and Customs and Border Protection’s raids and their presence in U.S. cities should now end.
Even 19 percent of Republicans, nearly one-fifth, agree, while 71 percent of GOP voters believe the immigration raids should continue.
Now 47 percent believe that ICE should be disbanded, an uptick from 43 percent in a Daily Mail poll that was conducted Friday.
Since the deaths of the two Americans, Homan has been deputized by Trump to calm down the situation in Minnesota and make inroads with Democratic leaders who may initially be opposed to Trump’s deportation orders.
During a press conference in Minneapolis last week, Homan announced that immigration agents would soon be pulled from the city and sent home after constructive talks with Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey – two individuals often chided by Trump.
Homan’s willingness to work with the Democratic leaders underscores how the administration is set on a more targeted approach to deportations.
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There were around 3,000 immigration agents in Minnesota at the operation’s peak
Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino looks on as he and his convoy stop at a gas station, days after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, U.S., January 13, 2026
‘Maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch,’ on deportation operations, Trump said last week in an interview with NBC News.
Back in June, Homan expressed concern about stories circulating at the time about legal migrants getting arrested by federal agents.
‘I think the more stories like that, people are going to question what we’re doing more,’ the border czar said.
Still, all those who enter the US illegally are valid targets for immigration officials.
‘When I say prioritize public safety threats, they’re just a priority. I’ve said it many times: If you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table. If we find you while we’re out there looking, you’re going to be arrested,’ Homan stated in June.
‘If we send a message to the world that, ‘Well if you enter the country illegally, that’s a crime but don’t worry about it — just don’t commit another crime and we’re not looking for you,’ we can’t send that message,’ he added.
