WASHINGTON—Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Thomas Homan zeroed in on law enforcement and defended ICE’s actions as he discussed illegal immigration at the Heritage Foundation on Oct. 17.
On the heels of the Trump administration’s “Immigration Principles and Policies” report to Congress on Oct. 8, Homan reiterated the White House’s firm stance on illegal immigration, and he also took aim at sanctuary cities.
“If we keep sending this message that it’s OK to violate the laws of this country, and go in society and not be worried about enforcement, then we’re never going to solve the border crisis,” he said.
He emphasized that media reports about what ICE is doing are inaccurate, particularly those that suggest the administration is racist, among other things.
“You know what they don’t say? They don’t say every one of these people being removed had their due process in this country,” Homan said. “They got an order from a federal judge, issued from a bench, and ICE’s job is to execute that order.”
With the reality of sanctuary cities (and sanctuary states when it comes to California as of Oct. 5) Homan outlined how it’s often difficult for ICE to do its job.
He noted the case of Nery Israel Estrada-Margos in Sonoma County, Calif. Arrested for alleged domestic battery in early August, Estrada-Margos was in the country illegally, and had once been deported in 2008. ICE officials logged a detainer request against him, but Estrada-Margos was released after posting bail. Estrada-Margos then allegedly killed his girlfriend a couple of weeks later.
KTVU San Francisco reported at the time that Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said, “We did notify ICE of his release date and time. Sometimes they pick up, sometimes they don’t,” implying ICE dropped the ball and chose not to pick up Estrada-Margos.
But in a statement to The Daily Caller, ICE spokesman James Schwab said: “At 8:20 p.m. the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office notified ICE’s local office that Mr. Estrada was pending release. The Sheriff’s Office then released Mr. Estrada 16 minutes later at 8:36 p.m.”
Homan said any crime committed by a released criminal alien is a preventable one.
“Sanctuary cities release a public safety threat back into the public,” he said. “Even the immigrant communities don’t want criminals in their communities.”
Homan praised ICE personnel as heroes who every day defend the country, and he emphasized that the actions of sanctuary cities simply make no sense.
“People that knowingly and intentionally violate the laws of this country—enter this country illegally, which is a crime—that’s been lost in the last decade,” he said. “There is not another law enforcement agency in this country where people ask them not to enforce the laws.”
Homan said the priorities sent to congress reflect input from across the law enforcement spectrum. And although he noted the number of executive orders and actions of President Donald Trump, to Homan it’s rather simple, “He could do these executive orders in one sentence: ‘ICE will now enforce the laws enacted by Congress and on the books.’”
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