White House border czar Tom Homan vehemently defended President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agenda on Friday during the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Policy Conference in Washington, D.
C.
Homan countered critics who label the administration's policies as inhumane by sharing graphic accounts from his decades-long career in border law enforcement.
He argued that strict measures prevent migrant deaths and combat cartel operations.
Addressing the conference crowd at the Washington Hilton, Homan expressed deep frustration with the current media coverage surrounding immigration initiatives.
"I want to talk about why I'm pissed off this morning," said Homan.
He emphasized that the administration's aggressive enforcement strategies are designed to deter hazardous journeys controlled by criminal syndicates.
"There's nothing further from the truth," said Homan.
The border czar asserted that weak border security actively fosters an environment where migrants face severe exploitation, assault, and death by smugglers.
"What President Trump is doing is saving lives," said Homan.
He then recounted a specific incident involving a smuggling operation that resulted in mass casualties from extreme heat exposure inside a commercial vehicle.
"I've stood in the back of a tractor-trailer with 19 dead people at my feet," said Homan.
Homan described the grim conditions inside the steel cargo area, noting that the victims, including a young boy, had stripped down to their underwear.
"They all baked to death," said Homan.
The border czar detailed the intense temperatures the trapped migrants endured before their deaths.
"I got to that crime scene.
They're all in underwear, trying to get some relief from the 170 degree heat in the back of a steel truck with no air.
Think of the way these people died," said Homan.
He further detailed instances of violence against children by cartels along the migrant trails to illustrate the dangers of unmonitored border crossings.
"I've gotten on my knees to talk to little girls as young as 9 that were raped multiple times by members of a cartel," said Homan.
Homan maintained that the administration's recent policy shifts have successfully disrupted these specific criminal patterns at the southern border.
"That's what happens when you have an unsecured border," said Homan.
He credited the current executive actions with establishing unprecedented levels of national border control.
"Well, guess what? There's no little 9-year-old girl right now that everybody's getting on their knees and talking to.
President Trump has closed the border down," said Homan.
The border czar concluded his remarks by reaffirming the long-term national security objectives of the administration's ongoing enforcement operations.
"Secure borders save lives," said Homan.
Homan praised the president's direct record on immigration management while signaling that enforcement actions will persist.
"Secure borders protect our national security. No one's done it better than President Trump.
And we ain't finished yet," said Homan.
The public defense by the border czar occurs amid sustained pushback from Democratic lawmakers and immigrant-rights advocates regarding mass deportation strategies and the reversal of previous administration policies.
