“Border czar” Tom Homan has stated that President Donald Trump will not hesitate to use the US military if Mexican cartels target American troops on the southern border.
“I think the cartels would be foolish to take on the military, but we know they’ve taken on the Mexican military before, but now we have the United States military,” he said Thursday on ABC’s Live News.
“Do I expect the violence to escalate? Absolutely, because the cartels are making record amounts of money,” Homan said, adding that while they continue to secure the border, “we’re taking money out of their pockets.”
Homan stated that the troops “need to protect themselves” and that if any US soldiers are harmed, “the wrath of President Trump’s going to come down.”
“He has the ability to wipe them off the face of the Earth,” he said .
On his first day in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, allowing the Defense Department to send troops to the area.
He also issued an executive order designating drug cartels and other criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations, or specifically designated global terrorists.
As part of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has conducted nationwide raids to round up undocumented migrants for deportation.
The administration has stated that the first priority for these raids is to target violent criminals.
On Thursday, Homan told ABC News Live that roughly 76% of the 14,000 migrants arrested so far are criminals.
“Where do the collaterals originate? “Collateral arrests occur when we are looking for the bad guy and discover others with them,” he explained.
Homan stated that he does not have a daily quota for arresting undocumented migrants, saying, “I want to arrest as many as we can arrest.”
“If you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table, but you’re not going to be a priority,” he told reporters.
When asked how the administration deals with deporting families back to dangerous countries, Homan replied, “What country is dangerous?”
Many migrants entering the United States come from countries like Haiti and Venezuela, where the State Department issues the strictest “do not travel” warnings due to violence.
“People should understand what asylum is. Asylum means escaping fear and persecution from your home government because of your race, religion, political affiliation, or membership in a particular social group,” he explained.
Homan claimed that many “fraudulent” asylum claims have overwhelmed the system, leaving legitimate asylum seekers “sitting in the back seat.”
“What you don’t do to claim asylum is enter the country illegally,” he told me. “You go to a port of entry.”
