Tom Homan. Credit line: Lenin Nolly / ddp USA / Profimedia
Tom Homan, whom US President Donald Trump is sending to Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of two US citizens, is a long-time law enforcement official who has promoted some of the Trump administration's controversial immigration policies, CNN reports.
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he has decided to send his immigration adviser, Tom Homan, nicknamed in the US media the “border king”, to Minneapolis. The decision came in the wake of the fatal shooting, on Saturday, of medical assistant Alex Pretti by federal agents.
The incident fueled tensions and drew bipartisan criticism of the Trump administration for portraying Pretti, without evidence, as someone who attempted to commit an act of domestic terrorism and wanted to massacre law enforcement. Federal officials have so far refused to provide the public with key details supporting their claim that an agent shot Pretti in self-defense.
The decision to send Homan to Minnesota was greeted with some relief by Republican lawmakers and Homeland Security officials, as the 64-year-old “border czar” has decades of law enforcement experience.
Who is the “border czar” of the White House
Tom Homan is one of the main architects of the Washington administration's anti-immigration policy.
Homan began his career as a police officer in New York and later served as a Border Patrol agent in California in 1984. He served under six presidents during his three decades in law enforcement.
Homan also led Immigration and Customs Enforcement's deportation efforts during the Obama administration.
As acting ICE director during Trump's first term, Homan was the public figure and vocal defender of some of the administration's most controversial immigration policies, including the separation of children and families who have crossed the border.
He said at a public event in September 2017 that his agency would arrest undocumented people who came forward to care for children, something previous administrations avoided. He also vehemently opposed “sanctuary city” policies that restrict local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration efforts.
But the president's dispatch of Homan to Minnesota also suggests a possible abandonment of the tougher tactics used by Gregory Bovino, the top Border Patrol official, and underscores the administration's ongoing internal dispute over how to implement the president's immigration agenda.
