US President Donald Trump has deployed his 'border tsar' Tom Homan to lead on-the-ground immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, after two US citizens were shot dead by federal agents in the city in less than a month. The White House has said Homan, who arrived in Minneapolis on Tuesday, will now be the 'main point of contact on the ground' and will meet with city officials. It comes as Gregory Bovino, the US border patrol chief and public face of the Trump administration's mass deportation drive in cities across the US, is expected to leave the city along with some of his agents.
Homan, 64, is seen as both a key Trump ally and someone with decades of experience in immigration policy across both Republican and Democratic administrations. He is also one of the most vocal defenders of Trump's immigration policy and mass deportation drive. A native of upstate New York, Homan began his career in law enforcement as a police officer before joining border patrol in 1984 in southern California.
He joined what was then called the Immigration and Naturalization Service four years later, climbing through the ranks of US immigration enforcement over multiple years. By 2013 - under the Obama administration - he held a little-known but influential post heading the Enforcement and Removal Operations arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Homan had planned to retire in 2017, just days before Trump's first administration began, but a call from incoming Chief of Staff John Kelly changed those plans.
While the 'border tsar' is an informal title, it refers to an executive branch role overseeing immigration policy across multiple agencies without Senate confirmation. Homan's approach has featured questions about the scope of deportations, aiming to prioritize serious criminal offenders, while also capturing undocumented individuals without criminal backgrounds.
Bovino's replacement with Homan suggests recognition from the White House that an urgent change was needed amid growing public concern, yet many predict minimal change in the administration's overall strategy towards immigration enforcement.
Homan, 64, is seen as both a key Trump ally and someone with decades of experience in immigration policy across both Republican and Democratic administrations. He is also one of the most vocal defenders of Trump's immigration policy and mass deportation drive. A native of upstate New York, Homan began his career in law enforcement as a police officer before joining border patrol in 1984 in southern California.
He joined what was then called the Immigration and Naturalization Service four years later, climbing through the ranks of US immigration enforcement over multiple years. By 2013 - under the Obama administration - he held a little-known but influential post heading the Enforcement and Removal Operations arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Homan had planned to retire in 2017, just days before Trump's first administration began, but a call from incoming Chief of Staff John Kelly changed those plans.
While the 'border tsar' is an informal title, it refers to an executive branch role overseeing immigration policy across multiple agencies without Senate confirmation. Homan's approach has featured questions about the scope of deportations, aiming to prioritize serious criminal offenders, while also capturing undocumented individuals without criminal backgrounds.
Bovino's replacement with Homan suggests recognition from the White House that an urgent change was needed amid growing public concern, yet many predict minimal change in the administration's overall strategy towards immigration enforcement.
