New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and incoming border czar Tom Homan swapped words of praise Thursday, after the two former law enforcement officers met to discuss the scope of collaboration on deportations between the city and the incoming Trump administration.
Homan, who has become a conservative media darling making multiple appearances per week, compared Adams to other Democratic state and local leaders during an appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show Thursday night.
"Look, I sat down with the mayor for well over an hour. He gets it. And today he proved that as the mayor in New York City, he's more concerned with public safety than politics. I wish the mayor of Chicago and the San Diego City council mayor and Gov. [JB] Pritzker, I wish they'd all take a page out of Mayor Eric Adams's playbook," Homan said.
Homan, a multi-year veteran of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who hung up his tactical gear and jumped into the political fray during the Trump administration, is expected to take on the role of border czar, a semi-official, non-Senate confirmed role.
Though the name implies a focus on the border, Homan’s role during the transition has been to amplify the projected size and reach of Trump’s interior mass deportation plans, straddling the line between threatening an all-out approach against all immigrants without permanent legal status and promising a criminals-first strategy.
Adams, speaking at a press conference after the meeting, said Homan focused on the latter.
“From what I heard from the incoming head of ICE is that we have the same desire, to go after those who are committing violent acts, repeated violent acts, among innocent New Yorkers and among migrants and asylum seekers. That’s what I heard from him, and I was pleased to hear that because we share the same desire,” said Adams, incorrectly identifying Homan, who led ICE between 2017 and 2018, as the incoming head of the agency.
But Homan has repeatedly said the new Trump administration will target all immigrants who lack permanent legal status, even those with immediate U.S. citizen family members, a group Homan has suggested should leave the country if they want to avoid separation from their deported relatives.
In an interview segment on the “Dr. Phil Podcast” published Thursday, Homan laid out his vision of how undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children should be treated.
“If you choose to have an American child while you’re in this country illegally, shame on you. You put yourself in that position, and I removed them despite some yelling even from Republican senators. The law is the law and we’re not going to bend it,” said Homan.
