Latest news with #Homan
New York Post
42 minutes ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Tom Homan ‘convinced' US will see major terror attack because of Biden's lax border policies: ‘It's coming'
Border czar Tom Homan warned Monday that he's 'convinced' the US will suffer a major terrorist attack as a direct result of former President Joe Biden's immigration and border policies. 'It's coming,' Homan said of the possibility of a 9/11-style attack conducted by migrants who illegally snuck across the southern border under Biden. The roughly 2 million so-called 'gotaway' migrants that border patrol agents never apprehended during the previous administration concerns Homan more than the drug smuggling or sex trafficking that took place on the US-Mexico boundary during Biden's only term in office, he told Fox News host Sean Hannity. Advertisement 3 Homan argued that the Biden administration was granting work permits to 'unvetted' migrants. Fox News 'These 2 million known gotaways scares the hell out of me,' Homan said, adding that he fears some could be terrorists. 'I'm convinced something's coming unless we can find them,' he warned. Advertisement Homan, who President Trump has tasked to oversee efforts to carry out his mass deportation plan, noted that it was alarming to him that millions of migrants went to great, and expensive, lengths to avoid detection when the Biden administration was quickly releasing illegal border-crossers into the US. 'Why did 2 million illegal aliens pay more to get away?' Homan told Hannity. 'They could have paid half of what they paid to cross the border, turn themselves into border patrol agents, get released that same day, get a free airline ticket to the city of their choice, get a free hotel room, get three meals a day, plus free medical care and work authorization.' 'Two million people paid more to get away,' he argued. 'They didn't want to be vetted. They didn't want to be fingerprinted. Why?' 'This scares the hell out of me and I've been doing this for 40 years. It should have scared the hell out of every American what the Biden administration did.' Advertisement 3 An Egyptian national on an expired work visa allegedly carried out an antisemitic terror attack in Colorado on Sunday. Homan described the 'gotaways' as 'the biggest national security vulnerability this country's ever seen' and predicted the US will be grappling with the effects of Biden's border policies 'for the next ten years.' The border czar's comments come one day after a madman who was in the country illegally torched and wounded 12 people with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails in an antisemitic terror attack in Boulder, Colorado. The suspected firebomber, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, is a 45-year-old Egyptian national who entered the country on a tourist visa in 2022, sought asylum and later obtained a work permit from the Biden administration, according to the Trump administration. Advertisement 3 Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, has been charged in the Boulder terror attack. Boulder County Sheriff's Office/AFP via Getty Images Soliman's work visa expired this past March, meaning he was no longer in the country legally. Homan lamented that 'even through the legal process, the Biden administration was bringing people unvetted' and 'handing out work visas like they're candy.'
Fox News
4 days ago
- General
- Fox News
ICE agents in Boston arrest migrant murderer, child rapists as Fox News rides along
Print Close By Bill Melugin, Michael Dorgan Published May 30, 2025 Fox News embedded exclusively with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the greater Boston area this week, where agents were carrying out the arrests of hundreds of egregious criminal migrants in what the agency said is the largest operation it has undertaken since President Donald Trump returned to office. The sweeping operation, called "Patriot," is expected to hit 1,500 arrests and is targeting migrants like a Salvadoran illegal migrant convicted of child rape who went to prison and was deported in 2017. He was nabbed by ICE living right next to a children's playground. ICE also swooped on another illegal migrant who is on El Salvador's most wanted list and has an Interpol Red Notice for aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping and robbery. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SETS NEW GOAL OF 3,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS DAILY Both arrests were captured exclusively on camera by Fox News. ICE deployed 19 teams across Massachusetts this week and the agency brought in ICE teams from other parts of the country to assist. It's in direct response to Massachusetts and Boston's sanctuary policies, where officials do not fully enforce or assist with federal immigration laws, as border czar Tom Homan has promised to surge ICE to these areas. Fox News is told that about 70% of the arrests are criminals with convictions or pending charges. ICE TOUTS RECORD-BREAKING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT DURING TRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS Patricia Hyde, the head of ICE Boston, said it's not uncommon to have migrants convicted of child rape to be roaming public streets close to where children play. "It's not unusual. Due to the open border policies, we are finding that plenty of people who have been previously deported and committed heinous crimes and were removed from the country are now back here, just living among us," Hyde said. "And now that's our job to go round them up." Fox News also joined ICE as they arrested a Colombian illegal migrant facing pending charges for sexual assault of a child, as well as a Dominican illegal migrant with a drug trafficking conviction who is now facing local charges for fentanyl distribution. Meanwhile, other arrests included a Guatemalan illegal migrant who's facing charges in Massachusetts for aggravated child rape but was released from state custody. They also arrested Honduran alien, who's facing local charges for rape and was also released from local custody. ICE Boston told Fox News that local ICE activists have been interfering in their operations. For instance, on Thursday, activists tried to grab onto a migrant who had been handcuffed by ICE, and in another incident, agents were stalking out a migrant murderer's home and a crowd gathered and blew their cover. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Hyde said sanctuary jurisdictions are starting to escalate against ICE. "I think the lack of cooperation is getting worse and worse and it's putting law enforcement lives in danger," Hyde said. Hyde said that ICE agents will continue to round up dangerous criminal illegal migrants, despite pushback from local lawmakers and activists. "We're not going away. It might take us longer. It might be harder, but we're not going away, we're here," Hyde said. "We know what the American people voted for. We understand that we work for the American people and we're going to be here until we send everyone home." Print Close URL
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
U.S. border czar: Nashville mayor, a critic of immigration sweeps, now faces investigation
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell with, at far left, Metro Nashville Legal Director Wally Dietz and near left, Hal Cato, CEO of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee at a May 5 press conference addressing raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) U.S. 'border czar' Tom Homan said Tuesday on Fox News that Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell is under investigation by a Congressional committee over his condemnation of immigration sweeps that led to the detention of nearly 200 people earlier this month. As a result of O'Connell's public stance, Homan warned that Nashville could soon see an even larger federal multi-agency immigration crackdowns: 'We'll flood the zone,' Homan said repeatedly. 'We'll flood the zone in the neighborhoods to find the bad guy. We'll flood the zone at work sites to find the bad guy, but we're going to do it, and he's (O'Connell) not going to stop us,' said Homan, the White House executive director of enforcement and removal operations. A spokesperson for the Congressional House Homeland Security Committee referenced by Homan did not respond to questions about a potential investigation. The committee is chaired by Tennessee Republican Rep. Mark Green. Homan's remarks came days after Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles held a press conference to denounce O'Connell, a Democrat, for 'aiding and abetting illegal immigration.' Ogles, without offering evidence, accused the Nashville mayor of obstructing the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. An Ogles spokesman did not respond to questions about his assertions this week. Ogles instead used his Memorial Day press conference to reference O'Connell's public remarks condemning a joint effort by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE agents during the first two weeks of May, when state troopers making traffic stops led to the ICE detention of 196 individuals in one of Nashville's most heavily immigrant neighborhoods. The majority of those detained had no criminal records. Tensions run high among officials, community organizations after ICE enforcement in Nashville 'What's clear today is that people who do not share our values of safety and community have the authority to cause deep community harm,' O'Connell publicly said of the early May detentions. Ogles also cited an executive order signed by O'Connell that requires city emergency officials to report, within 24 hours, any interaction with federal immigration enforcement officials to the Mayor's Office of New Americans. Homan appeared on The Ingraham Angle Fox News program with host Laura Ingraham Tuesday. 'We'll see,' he said in response to a question from Ingraham about whether he would seek criminal prosecution of O'Connell. 'I know Homeland Oversight is opening up a congressional investigation,' Homan said. 'I cannot confirm or deny if ICE is investigating (O'Connell), but we'll see where it plays out. It isn't just what he says, it's what he does…I said that from day one that we're going to hit every sanctuary city. Everybody that wants to push back against ICE, we're going to pay a lot of attention to them.' Nashville is not a so-called sanctuary city, a designation adopted by some U.S. cities to limit cooperation with ICE relating to immigrants accused of non-violent crimes. State law bars all Tennessee cities from adopting sanctuary status. In his television appearance, Homan also took aim at O'Connell's support for the so-called 'Belonging Fund' established by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, a 30-year-old mainstay of the local charitable sector. The Community Foundation announced in early May the creation of an emergency assistance fund for transportation, rent, food, and child care for immigrant families impacted by ICE sweeps. The fund, as of Wednesday, has raised $286,343 in private donations and does not receive public funding, according to a foundation spokesperson. 'As far as the belonging fund that (O'Connell is) supporting, I have my own belonging fund,' Homan said Tuesday. 'We can give housing, food and free medical care in ICE detention and that's exactly what we're going to do in Nashville.' Ogles took to the social media platform X Wednesday in a series of posts to amplify his criticism of the Belonging Fund, inaccurately labeling it as the 'mayor's fund.' 'Mayor O'Connell's so-called 'Belonging Fund' — which may be using taxpayer dollars to help illegal aliens evade ICE — has no system to track who the money is going to?,' he wrote. 'This is exactly how Americans end up funding terrorists and gangs. Shut down the fund. Investigate O'Connell.' Community Foundation officials, in announcing the fund, pledged they would keep confidential the names of individual recipients of aid. Recipients of The Belonging Fund donations thus far have included a pregnant woman unable to work due to health conditions, who used the funding to buy medication, food and pay part of her rent after Nashville immigration sweeps caught up the family's breadwinner, the foundation spokesperson said. Another recipient spent the $1,600 she received from the fund on food and rent after family members were taken into custody, the spokesperson said. Immigrant advocates have highlighted the terror and trauma experienced by immigrants caught up in sweeps that took place near busy thoroughfares in South Nashville, an immigrant community hub. Children at the scene were seen tears as mass arrests were made. 'It appears anti-immigrant politicians and pundits are still clamoring to spin this traumatizing event — which left children at home without caregivers, pregnant mothers without income to support their families, and community members too fearful to leave their homes for groceries,' said an emailed statement from Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Commission, which has helped connect funding to families impacted by the immigration sweeps. Sherman Luna called the measure an effort to 'further their political agenda, drive division in our city, and demonize immigrant communities and those who support us.' In a separate post, Ogles on Wednesday claimed he had met with ICE officials who told him, 'there's an illegal alien gang operating in every Tennessee city. No one is safe. This isn't rhetoric — it's the reality of blue mayors obstructing law enforcement.' Ogles did not provide support for those claims on social media. The majority of cities in Tennessee, which is largely rural and Republican, appear to be led by mayors who are either nonpartisan or Republican. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
AOC Mocked By Trump's Border Czar After Democratic Lawmaker Was Charged
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, mocked Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday in connection to the criminal charges one of Ocasio-Cortez's Democratic colleagues is facing. Ocasio-Cortez recently said there would be a "problem" if the Trump administration arrested any of her coworkers, to which Homan responded: "I'm waiting on the consequences." The Context New Jersey Representative LaMonica McIver was criminally charged in connection to a scuffle that broke out this month when she, two other House Democrats and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka were visiting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark, New Jersey. Two days later, Ocasio-Cortez posted a video on Instagram saying the Trump administration would face a "problem" if its officials arrested any of the House Democrats who were at the facility. McIver, Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman and Representative Rob Menendez have said they were at Delaney Hall detention center to perform their congressional oversight duties. Alina Habba, the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, announced criminal charges against McIver on May 19; the New Jersey Democrat is accused of attacking ICE agents, an allegation she has vehemently denied. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attends the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attends the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images) What To Know Homan mocked Ocasio-Cortez in connection to McIver's charges during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Wednesday. "Well, remember just a couple of weeks ago, AOC went on social media saying if we put a finger on any of her coworkers—congresspeople—that were at our Newark facility, there'd be consequences," Homan said, referring to Ocasio-Cortez by her popular nickname. "Well, guess what? We did it. I'm waiting on the consequences." Ocasio-Cortez accused Homan and other top Trump administration officials of violating the law in her video. "If anyone's breaking the law in this situation, it's not members of Congress, it's the Department of Homeland Security," the New York Democrat said. "It's people like Tom Homan and [Homeland Security] Secretary Kristi Noem." Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most progressive members of the House of Representatives, who the White House recently described as the "leader" of the Democratic Party, went on to accuse the Department of Homeland Security of employing "public intimidation" tactics to silence critics. "You lay a finger on someone, on Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman ... or any of the representatives that were there, you lay a finger on them, we are going to have a problem," Ocasio-Cortez said in the Instagram video. "Because the people who are breaking the law are the people not abiding by it." Ocasio-Cortez posted the video after DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin suggested that Coleman, Menenedez and McIver could be arrested over the Delaney Hall visit. A little over a week after the video was posted, Habba announced the charges against McIver. Ocasio-Cortez has gone on a tear against the Trump administration since President Donald Trump took office in January. Earlier Wednesday, she renewed her longtime call to "abolish ICE," saying in a fundraising email that ICE, "an agency that was just formed in 2003 during the Patriot Act era, is a rogue agency that should not exist." The White House attacked Ocasio-Cortez over the email, slamming "the Democrat Party leader" for demanding the agency be dismantled. Ocasio-Cortez's call to abolish ICE comes after the agency recently surpassed Border Patrol in arrests amid Trump's pressure to ramp up deportations. The administration is also embroiled in court battles across the country challenging Trump's authority to deport migrants without due process—many of whom have not been convicted of crimes—and terminate the legal status of international students who protest the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians. What Happens Next McIver said she intends to fight the charges against her in court. Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina also recently filed a resolution to expel McIver from Congress, which the New Jersey Democrat later mocked on social media. This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
D.C. Republicans pile on Nashville mayor over ICE response — and imply more action in city
Republicans in Washington are piling on Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell in the wake of scrutiny from U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, who's asked to initiate Congressional investigations into the mayor's response to a recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Nashville. After Ogles — flanked by several state lawmakers and Metro Nashville Council Member David Benton — reasserted a previous call to investigate O'Connell during a Memorial Day news conference, an official with the Trump administration is now weighing in. Tom Homan, the White House's executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations or 'border czar,' appeared on Fox News on May 27 to criticize O'Connell. 'I've said from day one — you can not cooperate with ICE if that's what you want to do, but you can't get in our way and you can't impede our efforts,' Homan said. 'If you cross that line, we'll seek prosecution.' Those comments stem from the mayor's Executive Order 30, which lays out a process and timeline for city departments to report communications with federal immigration authorities to the mayor's office. O'Connell amended the executive order in the middle of a weeklong ICE operation in Nashville in early May, adjusting the timeline so that the mayor's office is notified within one business day rather than within several. Homan also seemed to point toward another escalation in immigration enforcement in Nashville, saying he would 'flood the zone' with agencies including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, ICE and U.S. Marshals. 'If he wants to push back and support sanctuary cities, that means we 'flood the zone,'' Homan continued. 'We'll flood the zone in the neighborhoods to find the bad guy, we'll flood the zone at work sites to find the bad guy, but we're going to do it and he's not going to stop us.' Nashville is not a sanctuary city, nor is any city in the state of Tennessee. In fact, sanctuary cities are banned outright in Tennessee and have been for about seven years. The Tennessee legislature passed another law during a special session at the start of 2025 that, in part, criminalizes local officials who support sanctuary policies for immigrants. Asked whether O'Connell would be charged with obstructing ICE officials, Homan said, 'We'll see.' Homan confirmed the congressional investigation Ogles has called for and said he 'cannot confirm or deny' if ICE is also investigating O'Connell. Homan added that he planned to come to Nashville himself 'in the near future' and said he'd be open to meeting with O'Connell. During the appearance, Homan was also briefly critical of The Belonging Fund, which was established in the midst of the Nashville ICE operation to provide financial support to nonprofit organizations offering emergency assistance to immigrant families. That fund is not city-run but instead facilitated by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which notes on its website that donations to the fund are made possible solely by individual donors and private organizations, meaning no government contributions are included. Benton, the Metro Nashville Council member, called for a state or federal audit of the fund during his Memorial Day appearance with Ogles. On May 28, the Metro Nashville Council's Immigrant Caucus issued a news release condemning Benton's remarks on Memorial Day, calling them "racist propaganda," "inaccurate" and "inflammatory." The caucus also called for Benton, who represents part of Antioch where the ICE sweeps were focused, to resign. 'Councilmember Benton does not deserve to hold public office,' the release reads. 'His conduct and comments are unbecoming of an elected official, particularly one representing a district with a significant Latino population.' In an additional statement provided to The Tennessean, the Immigrant Caucus also backed O'Connell and other local leaders who have come out in support of Nashville's immigrant population. "It's clear that this fight will not be over anytime soon and so there is much more that needs to be done to support our immigrant neighbors," the statement reads. "The attacks against our neighbors and Nashville leaders is founded in an ideology that essentially says 'if you stand with brown people you are a criminal.'" The mayor's office has a history of publicizing Community Foundation funds established to respond to particular events or crises, like the Nashville School Violence Support & Healing Fund created to support victims of the January 2025 Antioch High shooting. O'Connell, for his part, repeatedly stated during the operation that the amended executive order likely wouldn't have changed the city's response in any way, nor would it have empowered the city to share details publicly on a looming immigration enforcement operation beyond communications between city departments. O'Connell's office had not responded to The Tennessean's request for comment by early afternoon on May 28. O'Connell has previously declined to comment on Ogles' earlier calls for an investigation. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a member of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, also made an appearance on Fox News to criticize O'Connell on May 28, albeit more briefly than Homan. Biggs called the executive order 'outrageous' and said it incentivizes people to 'not cooperate with ICE.' Biggs said that makes ICE operations 'more dangerous' for both federal agents and neighborhoods, since 'ICE is going to have to go into those neighborhoods' to find people that, purportedly, are 'hiding out there.' 'It's actually going to result in more arrests and deportations because if they get there and there's a bad guy and they happen to be with people that we wouldn't even be looking at, they're going to get arrested as well if they're illegally in the country,' Biggs said. Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@ Get Davidson County news delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: D.C. Republicans pile on Nashville mayor, imply more ICE action
