Thomas Homan


Thomas Douglas Homan is a former American police officer and government official who served as Acting Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 30, 2017 to June 29, 2018. Since his retirement from public service, he has been a Fox News contributor.

Career

Homan was born in West Carthage, New York. He holds an associate degree in criminal justice from Jefferson Community College and a bachelor's degree from SUNY Polytechnic Institute. He served as a police officer in West Carthage, New York before joining what was then called the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1986. He served as a border patrol agent, an investigator, as well as a supervisor before being appointed by President Barack Obama to Executive Associate Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2013. In 2015, President Obama gave him a Presidential Rank Award as a Distinguished Executive. A Washington Post article at the time stated, "Thomas Homan deports people. And he's really good at it."

Director of ICE

On January 30, 2017, President Donald Trump demoted acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Daniel Ragsdale to deputy director, a position he already held, and appointed Homan as acting director.
In May 2017, Homan announced ICE had arrested 41,319 people between Inauguration Day and the end of April, a 38% increase from the same period the year before.
As ICE director, Homan has voiced opposition to illegal immigration and support for strong illegal immigration enforcement. He also voiced support for passing Kate's Law and ending sanctuary cities. He has denied saying "aliens commit more crimes than US citizens".
On Tuesday, November 14, 2017, President Donald J. Trump nominated Homan for ICE Director.
In February 2018, Homan said that politicians who support sanctuary city policies should be charged with crimes.
On April 30, 2018, he announced that he would retire from his position as acting ICE Director effective June of the same year.
On June 5, 2018, Homan appeared for a discussion with the Policy Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower levels of immigration, in which he defended the policy of separating illegally entering parents from their children, and lauded President Donald Trump, saying, "You can like or love this president, but no president has done more for border security and public safety than this president. You cannot deny that."
On June 19, 2018, Homan was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN about the Trump Administration’s policy of separating children from parents of families illegally attempting to enter the United States. In that interview, Homan refused to decry the policy, but instead stated that ICE was simply enforcing the law. Homan further stated that parents who give their children to criminal smuggling organizations to get them across the border illegally are inhumane. Homan also noted that these same organizations are responsible for trafficking in guns and drugs and have been responsible for the murder of a border patrol agent.
In July 2019, Homan testified before the House Oversight Committee regarding the separation of illegal immigrant families.