Thomas
Homan, acting chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Monday
that immigration enforcement is thriving under President Trump's leadership unlike
any recent commander in chief.
"This
president has done more for border security and public safety than any of the
six presidents I've worked for. Just since his leadership in January, border
crossings are at a 45-year low. Now that's not a coincidence. That's because
this president has let the men and women of Border Patrol and ICE do their
job," Homan told Fox News' "Fox and Friends."
Homan
was nominated in mid-November to
permanently oversee the interior enforcement agency under the Department of
Homeland Security.
As a
candidate, Trump promised to deport criminal illegal immigrants on his first
day in office. During the administration's first 100 days, more than 41,000
illegal immigrants were arrested under
Homan's command of ICE.
Homan
has taken on Trump's tone on illegal immigration. In June, he told the estimated
11 million people in the U.S. illegally to "look over your shoulder"
because he would not ignore some immigration policies as Obama or former DHS
Secretary Jeh Johnson had ordered.
Homan
is also opposed to Obama's pro-sanctuary city stance and has demanded all
jurisdictions cooperate with ICE requests to detain illegal immigrants who have
been picked up by state and local law enforcement for non-immigration-related
crimes.
In
June 2016, Homan testified that
deportation numbers were not down because there was no one to deport, but
because of the Obama administration's opposition to carrying them out.
As of
this past July, Homan said the demand for
criminal illegal immigrants in local jails has increased 80 percent.
Customs
and Border Protection is due to release its annual report of border
apprehension numbers from fiscal year 2017 at any time. The numbers are
expected to be dramatically lower than last year's.
