Crockett calls for Senate confirmation of Border Czar Homan

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) called for Senate confirmation of President-elect Trump’s new border czar Tom Homan.

“I think if they’re going to ask him for the type of power that he thinks he wants, he absolutely needs to be confirmed by the Senate,” Crockett said Tuesday on CNN.

Homan previously served as acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Shortly after Trump won the election earlier this month, Homan was elected to the new position of “border czar.”



For several months, Trump has promised to launch the country’s largest deportation operation. Homan said he will follow through on that promise and has engaged in a back-and-forth with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston over the issue, declaring he will jail the mayor if he refuses to participate in deportations.

In 2019, Trump sent a nomination to the Senate for Homan to formally lead ICE, but Homan withdrew his nomination rather than face a Senate confirmation process. Now, in his newest position, he won’t have to face the confirmation process that Trump’s entire cabinet will endure.

The border chief position is not an official government title, but Homan is expected to oversee day-to-day operations and strategy for border security and enforcement in an advisory capacity.

Crockett argued Tuesday that someone like Homan, with the power given to him in the new position, should go through the same process as Trump’s other nominees.

“At the end of the day, he has to go through the same level of scrutiny if he’s going to get this type of power,” she said.

In this new role, Homan will work under and alongside Trump’s Department of Homeland Security committee, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R).

Homan’s role in the administration has concerned immigration advocates, particularly regarding his plans to conduct workplace raids, potential family separations and deportations of immediate family members of US citizens.

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