Incoming border czar Tom Homan joined Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday at a key border area in Texas, and will serve meals to troops stationed there over Thanksgiving – praising the governor’s “unprecedented success” in securing the border, ahead of what is expected to be significant cooperation between the Trump administration and Abbott’s team next year.
Homan and Abbott served meals to Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in Eagle Pass, Texas. Homan praised Abbott for his job.
“Governor Abbott has done an amazing job. Illegal immigration in Texas is down 86%, 86% think about that. This is a model we can take across the country. We’re going to help Governor Abbott finish the job he started,” he said.
Homan was appointed “border czar” by President-elect Trump this month after Trump’s election win. A former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director, Homan will be one of the most high-profile figures in terms of the mass deportation operation the incoming administration has planned.
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Gov. Greg Abbott during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Abbott, meanwhile, has clashed repeatedly with the Biden administration over border security as his state bore the brunt of the historic migrant crisis at the southern border. Numbers hit record highs in 2023, but dropped sharply in 2024. Texas has put that down in part to its own efforts. But the Biden administration has noted that the drop has been border-wide, including a 55% drop in encounters since President Biden signed a presidential proclamation limiting asylum in June, and amid increased co-operation with Mexico. The administration says it needs more funding from Congress, including via a bipartisan bill that failed to pass the Senate earlier this year.
Abbott caused controversy by bussing migrants to “sanctuary” cities like New York City, Chicago and others as a way to relieve the pressure on the state. His administration has also built its own border wall, set up buoys in the Rio Grande and deployed troops to provide additional border security.
Tom Homan speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Abbott, a Republican, is likely to find an alliance with the incoming administration with aligned views on additional border security, the ending of “catch-and-release” and tougher penalties on those entering the U.S. illegally. Speaking on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday, Homan said the incoming administration is not waiting until Jan 20 to get to work.
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“We’re already planning what we’re going to do to lock down the state of Texas,” he said. “Gov. Abbott’s doing a great job so far. Illegal crossings in Texas are down over 80% because of the great work by Gov. Abbott, and he’s been successful because he has taken the Trump policies and put them to work.”
“We’re going to partner up and help him do 100% security on his border, and we’re going to do that across the southwest border,” he said.
On Monday, Abbott announced that Texas recently installed more buoy barriers in the Rio Grande.
“Texas continues our historic border security mission to stop illegal entry and safeguard our nation,” he said.
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“We’ll use every tool and strategy available to hold the line,” he said.
Later Monday, he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he was thankful for the incoming administration and the role Homan will play in it.
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“I’m thankful that we have Tom Homan as the incoming border czar who is going to help execute those laws and enforce those laws and make sure that we get back to restoring order.”
The administration will face significant opposition from Democratic officials throughout the country, who have promised not to co-operate with the administration’s deportation plan. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said this week that he was prepared to go to jail over his opposition to mass deportations. On Tuesday, speaking in Texas, Homan had a message for those officials planning to try and stop ICE doing its job.
“I’ve said 100 times in the last week, don’t cross that line. There’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal illegal alien from immigration authorities – don’t test us,” he said.