Latest news with #ThomasHoman
Fox News
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Lawmakers under fire for sharing ICE raid info, warning locals of immigration enforcement operations
As President Donald Trump and his Department of Homeland Security have ramped up enforcement of U.S. immigration law after the Biden-era deluge at the border, some Democrats have come under fire for their responses to the situation. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has held "Know Your Rights" webinars and disseminated guides to constituents concerned about ICE conducting operations in her Queens and Bronx district. "ICE raids are political tactics, and they're often intended to create fear," one proctor in an Ocasio-Cortez webinar advised. "Do not open your door," an Ocasio-Cortez-branded document read elsewhere – advising residents to demand to see ICE's judicially signed warrants. Such efforts by the "Squad" member drew the attention of Border Czar Thomas Homan, who told Fox News he had sent a letter to the Department of Justice questioning whether she may have broken the law. "At what level is that impediment [of federal law enforcement operations]?" Homan asked "Ingraham Angle" host Laura Ingraham. "If so, what are we going to do about it? . . . Maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now." At the state government level, Arizona state Sen. Analise Ortiz came under fire for her response to ICE operations. Ortiz, D-Phoenix, was accused of "doxxing" ICE by LibsOfTikTok commentator Chaya Raichik, after she reportedly posted live locations of federal agents on her Instagram page. Ortiz defended her work, comparing it to how the automotive app WAZE alerts drivers to police activity, speed traps or car crashes. She then took a jab at three Republican lawmakers she claimed had faced similar trouble in the past, quipping that they might've been "better off" using WAZE. The situation drew calls for a formal federal investigation this week from Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert. "Public servants have a duty to uphold the law and respect those who enforce it, not undermine them," Gilbert said. Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin countered in comments to Fox News Digital: "Arizona state Senator Analise Ortiz is siding with vicious cartels, human traffickers, and violent criminals over American citizens," she said. In Georgia, a self-described socialist millennial lawmaker was lambasted earlier this year for reportedly posting a step-by-step video to Facebook advising how to avoid ICE raids. "We have seen examples of it happening in our district and around our metro area," said state Rep. Gabriel Sanchez, D-Vinings. Sanchez told viewers of the video, also published by the Cobb County Voice, "Do not answer any question," and "Do not sign any documents." "We are doing everything in our power we can to protect our community, including looking at legislation that could help with this issue." Sanchez was previously one of the organizers of "Stop Cop City," a socialist activist group that made headlines for violently attempting to prevent Atlanta law enforcement from constructing a new training center. During the first Trump administration, Massachusetts state Rep. Michelle DuBois, D-Brockton, warned undocumented constituents of planned ICE operations in Plymouth County. DuBois advised people to call a 774 number that linked to a legal services group in the even they needed "immigration help." She then said she wanted to "relay" a message from a member of the "Latin community." "Please be careful on Wednesday ... ICE will be in Brockton that day. If you are undocumented, don't go out on the street. If there is a knock on the door of your house, and you don't know who it is, don't open the door, I ask you to be careful," she said. When confronted at an event by a reporter from CBS' Boston affiliate, DuBois said, "ICE is welcome to call my office" and claimed the reporter was spreading "hearsay." "Passing information along that is already all over the community not only lets the people I represent know what is happening, it lets ICE know that everyone in Brockton is aware of their intended raid if there was one," DuBois said in a statement. Neighboring Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson went to Congress to warn that the situation was "most outrageous." "It's undermining my job and every other officer in the United States," he told then-Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas.
New York Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Under Pressure From the White House, ICE Seeks New Ways to Ramp Up Arrests
Demands from the White House for a drastic increase in arrests of people who have entered the country illegally have pushed immigration officials into overdrive to fulfill President Trump's pledge of mass deportations. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is carrying out workplace raids across the country like the one in the garment district of Los Angeles last week that kicked off protests and a vast federal response. The agency is staggering shifts so agents are available seven days a week to try to meet arrest goals and asking criminal investigators who usually focus on issues like human trafficking to help identify targets. It is also asking the public to call in tips to report illegal immigration. ICE's work is being aided by a new mapping app that locates people with deportation orders who can be swiftly expelled, drawn from data housed in agencies across the government, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. 'I said it from Day 1, if you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table,' Thomas D. Homan, Mr. Trump's border czar, said in an interview. 'So, we're opening that aperture up.' Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, has been deeply engaged in the effort behind the scenes, meeting with top ICE officials in recent weeks and scrutinizing the numbers, according to people familiar with his involvement. The intense pressure by top administration officials creates an atmosphere that elevates the potential for mistakes at a time when officers and agents are being pushed to make consequential decisions, former officials said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
