Official portrait of Tom Homan

Tom Homan

Border Czar / Acting ICE Director

Appointed as "border czar" in January 2025. Oversaw the dramatic expansion of immigration enforcement including the rescission of the sensitive locations policy (allowing ICE raids on churches, schools, hospitals), record deportation flights to 79 countries, workplace raids, and the expansion of the detention system to record levels.

Linked Incidents

Rescission of ICE Sensitive Locations Policy — Churches, Schools, and Hospitals Open to Raids

The rescission of the sensitive locations policy removed decades-old protections for churches, schools, hospitals, courthouses, and shelters from immigration enforcement. The change unleashed a …

  • On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration rescinded the DHS Protected Areas policy via executive order 'Protecting the American People …
  • Arrests of people with no criminal record surged 2,450% in Trump's first year — from 6% of ICE detainees in January 2025 to 41% by December …

ICE Workplace Raids and Mass Arrests at Job Sites

ICE conducted at least 40 workplace raids with over 1,100 arrests in seven months, including the largest single-site raid in DHS history at a Hyundai plant in Georgia (475 arrests). The raids …

  • At least 40 publicly reported ICE worksite enforcement actions in the first seven months of the administration, resulting in over 1,100 …
  • The Hyundai Metaplant raid in Ellabell, Georgia (September 4, 2025) was the largest single-site immigration raid in DHS history, with 475 …

Record Expansion of ICE Deportation Flights to 79 Countries

ICE Air conducted 2,253 deportation flights to 79 countries in one year -- a 46% increase over the Biden era -- including to 25 countries that had never received ICE flights. Domestic transfer flights …

  • 2,253 deportation flights to 79 countries from January 20, 2025 to January 20, 2026 -- a 46% increase in flights and 76% increase in …
  • Removal flights included 25 countries that had never previously received ICE deportation flights.

Record ICE Detention Deaths and Medical Care Payment Halt

46 deaths in ICE custody since January 2025 mark a two-decade high. ICE's October 2025 halt of medical care payments left detainees without access to health services as the detention population …

  • 46 people have died in ICE custody or detention facilities since January 2025 — a two-decade high, with 2025 seeing the highest death rate …
  • ICE halted payments to medical care contractors in October 2025 after the VA terminated a longstanding reimbursement agreement, leaving …

Family Separations and Prolonged Child Detention Under Immigration Enforcement

Immigration enforcement separated at least 11,000 US citizen children from their parents, with children held in government custody for an average of six months while officials used reunification …

  • At least 11,000 US citizen children had a parent detained by ICE in the first seven months of Trump's second term -- an average of more than …
  • Children in ICE detention jumped more than sixfold compared to the Biden administration, from ~25 per day to ~170 per day.

Systematic Elimination of Bond Hearings and Indefinite Immigration Detention

An ICE directive and BIA precedential decision eliminated bond hearings for millions of immigrants, creating a system of indefinite detention without judicial review. 71.7% of the 57,861 ICE detainees …

  • On July 8, 2025, Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons issued a memo declaring that immigrants who entered without inspection are no longer …
  • On September 5, 2025, the BIA ruled in Matter of Yajure Hurtado that immigration judges lack authority to conduct bond hearings for anyone …

Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to Accelerate Venezuelan Deportations

The administration invoked a rarely used 1798 wartime statute to justify accelerated removals of Venezuelan nationals, including transfers into El Salvador's detention system, prompting immediate …

  • The proclamation treated Tren de Aragua activity as an 'invasion' or 'predatory incursion' under the Alien Enemies Act.
  • The government used the proclamation to argue for removals with sharply reduced individualized process.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Deported to El Salvador Despite Withholding Order

Federal officials removed Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador despite a preexisting withholding order barring that destination, then spent weeks litigating what it meant to 'facilitate' his return …

  • An immigration judge had already barred Abrego Garcia's removal to El Salvador.
  • Public reporting said he was transferred into El Salvador's CECOT prison system.

Secret Deportation of 260+ Venezuelans to CECOT Mega-Prison

Over 260 Venezuelans were secretly deported to CECOT, where HRW documented torture, sexual violence, prolonged incommunicado detention, and denial of basic necessities. Many deportees had no criminal …

  • 260+ Venezuelan nationals were secretly deported to CECOT between March and April 2025, without notice to families or attorneys, …
  • HRW's 'You Have Arrived in Hell' report documented regular and severe physical abuse, sexual violence (at least 3 cases including forced …

Midnight Deportation of 76 Guatemalan Children: Labor Day Weekend Mass Removal Attempt

The administration attempted a mass deportation of unaccompanied minor children in the middle of the night during a holiday weekend, circumventing legal protections that require children to appear …

  • On August 31, 2025 (Labor Day weekend), 76 unaccompanied Guatemalan children in US government custody were roused from their beds around …
  • HHS began contacting shelter care providers around 10:00 PM Central time on August 30, ordering them to prepare children for immediate …

Deportation of US Military Veterans

The administration deported US military veterans including Purple Heart recipients wounded in combat, after replacing Biden-era protections that required ICE to consider military service. An estimated …

  • An estimated 94,000 US military veterans lack citizenship, leaving them vulnerable to detention and deportation.
  • In April 2025, the Trump administration replaced Biden-era guidance requiring ICE to consider military service before arrests with a memo …

Reimposition of 'Remain in Mexico' Migrant Protection Protocols

The administration reinstated 'Remain in Mexico,' forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexican cities that the US State Department itself rates as 'Level 4: Do Not Travel' due to kidnapping and violence. …

  • DHS reinstated MPP on January 21, 2025, forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexican border cities while their cases are processed in US …
  • MSF documented that in one border city, 75% of MPP patients had been kidnapped while waiting in Mexico under the policy.

Deportation Traps at Immigration Court Hearings and Systematic Denial of Due Process

ICE turned mandatory immigration court hearings into arrest traps, coordinating in real time with government attorneys to arrest immigrants whose cases were dismissed. Record-setting asylum denials, …

  • ICE agents arrested immigrants at mandatory immigration court hearings, using case dismissals as triggers for arrest in a coordinated …
  • Government attorneys and ICE officers coordinated in real time, with agents in hallways waiting to identify and arrest individuals whose …