Tom Homan, Donald Trump's new “border czar,” has vowed to begin enacting the president-elect's mass deportation plan in Chicago, warning the city's Democratic mayor that he will be prosecuted if he fails to cooperate.
Speaking at a Republican Party fundraiser in the Windy City on Tuesday, Homan said Chicago is “in trouble” because “the mayor is bad and your governor is bad.”
“We'll start here in Chicago,” he said of the mass deportation plan.
“If the mayor of Chicago doesn't want to help, he can stand aside…but if he obstructs us, if he intentionally harbors or hides an illegal alien, I will prosecute him.”
Trump has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation of illegal immigrants in the country's history when he takes office in January.
The president-elect said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that allows the president to deport any noncitizen from a country with which the United States is at war.
Trump told Time magazine on Thursday that he has the authority to use the military to assist with deportations.
“I consider it an invasion of our country,” he said.
“I will only do what the law allows, but I will go as far as the law allows. I believe that in many cases, sheriffs and law enforcement officials will need assistance.”
Trump did not deny that camps were needed to hold detained immigrants while they were being prepared for deportation.
“Whatever it takes to get them out. I don’t care,” he said.
“I hope we don't need too many of them because I want to get them out and I don't want them to be in camp for the next 20 years.”
He added that he does not intend to reinstate the policy of separating children from their families to deter border crossings, but he did not rule it out.
This policy led to the separation of thousands of children from their parents and was widely condemned as inhumane.
“I don't think we'll have to because we'll be bringing the whole family back,” he said. “I would rather deport them together, yes, than separate.”
Some Democratic-led states are taking action to resist Trump's plan. The California Legislature held a special session to try to protect people from potential Trump policies, including by boosting legal aid for immigrants facing deportation.
About 11 million illegal immigrants were living in the United States as of 2022, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.
