Homan: Sanctuary cities will see more ‘collateral arrests’
White House border czar Tom Homan said sanctuary cities will see more “collateral arrests” as he works to implement President Trump’s immigration plan.
Homan joined CNN’s “Inside Politics” on Tuesday to discuss the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan, which he said goes into effect immediately.
Host Dana Bash pressed Homan, asking how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is specifically finding people who have committed crimes.
“There’s going to be more collateral arrests in sanctuary cities because they forced us to go into the community and find the guy we’re looking for,” Homan said.
Homan slammed sanctuary cities, places that attempt to be safe for migrants, and said law enforcement needs to go into the communities to find the migrant who has a criminal conviction.
“When you release a public safety threat out of a sanctuary jail and they won’t give us access to him, that means we got to go to the neighborhood and fine him, and we will find him, but when we find him, he may be with others,” Homan said. “Others that don’t have a criminal conviction and are in the country illegally. They will be arrested too.”
“And this is a difference between the last administration and this administration,” he continued. “ICE is going to enforce the immigration law.”
Homan added that there is “nothing” in the Immigration and Nationality Act that says a person has to be convicted of a serious crime to be removed from the country.
Bash questioned Homan on the matter, asking if American citizens could be part of ICE’s raids.
“What I’m telling you is, when we go find our priority target, which is a criminal alien, if he’s with others in the United States illegally, we’re going to take enforcement action against him,” Homan said. “We’re going to force immigration law.”
Those people would be processed and put in detention, he said.
Homan said he wouldn’t call the operations “raids” or targeted enforcement. The process has been well planned and investigated, he said.